In their latest single, titled “Cadillac,” King Falcon continues to cultivate a sound that tends towards the genre’s Alternative/Indie pool. Delivered with a passionate lead vocal that has become a bit of a signature attribute for the band’s magnetizing lead singer, “Cadillac” feels and sounds like a statement of self for the group behind its conception. I think it’s one of the few that has potential to break through on the mainstream end sooner than later. Alternative rock bands have been celebrated all year long, but in this track, a player indebted to the traditions of this genre finds a way to sound more relevant than a lot of chart-toppers have in 2023.
Singer Michael Rubin takes a pretty tempered approach to every aspect of this recording, and despite the urgency of the rhythm, his overall execution is disciplined and proportionate to what his backing band is putting up. The sway of the percussion desperately tries to pull us asunder on a couple of different occasions ahead of the chorus, but thanks to the buoyancy of the other instruments, we remain tethered to a light, easy melodic groove up top from beginning to end. “Cadillac” is as much the product of careful arranging as it is a love of pure rock music, which isn’t typical of the contemporary releases New York has been responsible for in this age, especially given all of the needless experimentation we’ve been seeing out of the city’s politics-stained indie scene.
The lyrics here feel more inspired by the music rather than the other way around, which, for me, only contributes to the authenticity of the artistry. King Falcon feels like a jam band that could come together on a lazy Sunday afternoon and suddenly get an entire crowd of people excited about a classic rock beat, and while theirs is a self-controlled performance in “Cadillac,” it isn’t without a certain free-spirited energy that has become all but impossible to acquire in much of the pop output you’d encounter on the FM dial this April. This is just the right combo of modern and classical themes, and that’s enough to make it required listening for those who are looking for something just a little bit different right now.
Though mainstream rock is getting a little off-center from where it’s conventionally been, “Cadillac” sees King Falcon refusing to back down from their philosophically retro aesthetics when it comes to making quality tunes. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation when it yields something smart and/or provocative, but with that said, what Rubin and his band are trying to accomplish with their career is far more rooted in allegiances to history than it is in a desire to expand on a specific theme. It’s a conservative approach to take, but in the grander scheme of things, it’s exactly what this group needs to sound relatively unique in a crowded talent pool throughout the rock scene.