King Loser — '76 Comeback [1995]

Having just posted a Jon Spencer tune, my mind flicked to New Zealand’s King Loser.

King Loser are a band who are difficult to explain, especially for a non-expert like me. They existed for about 5 years in the 1990s, putting out a spate of 3 albums in a 2 year period. They mixed surf instrumentals, Stooges-like riffs, Lee & Nancy chic, Dick Dale covers, and sweat soaked Elvis jumpsuits into a band that was both slightly cartoonish but also deadly serious.

I got to see them play a couple of times when they toured the album that this track is from, on a Flying Nun Records roadshow along with a couple of other label mates.

In finding the video for the song, I discovered a documentary about the 2016 reunion has just been released in NZ. I Iiked this description of the band from the trailer:

“We had a bit of an us against the world vibe… but also us against us, too.” King Loser’s first of fifteen drummers summarizes their stunningly explosive (and implosive) qualities midway through this unflinching yet affectionate portrait of the legendary 90s band. Driven by the “C&C Music Factory”— Chris Heazlewood and Celia Mancini—King Loser blended surf, lounge, psych and noise into a singular, swampy sound. A cyclone of chutzpah, cigarettes and impeccable fashion sense, the larger-than-life Mancini epitomised a notorious band that collapsed too soon but left a mark on all who encountered them—either at their transcendent best or catastrophic worst.

History of King Loser on Audio Culture NZ

Youtube backup link