Marcus King today announced the release of ‘Blues Worse Than I Ever Had’, the final preview track ahead of his forthcoming solo album, Young Blood, due August 26. The track, co-written with Dan Auerbach, has a laid back groove and saturating slide guitar which soundtrack King’s visceral vocal, reflecting on a moment of despair and the hope that lies beyond it.
King stated, “At the time, I’d changed medications when I was trying to process the death of family members. I was coasting through life like a zombie. When I’d get off them, I’d feel things that happened six months ago for the first time and crash down.”
Accompanying the song release, King also dropped a live performance video, created at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio, it features acclaimed musicians including Chris St. Hilaire on drums and Nick Movshon on bass. Watch it here: https://mk.lnk.to/blueslive
Young Blood’s tales of excess, salvation, break up and addiction, draw on some difficult and personal moments, in which King turned to his most stadium sized 70s rock influences, both for musical comfort and also as a foreboding warning. King recently shared with Rolling Stone that Paul Kossoff, cult 70s rock band Free’s guitarist, who died in connection to substance abuse at a similar age to King, was a driving force in him wanting to turn a corner in his life.
“I was seeing all these signs,” King recently told Rolling Stone, adding. “I was feeling really paranoid that something was trying to tell me to either slow down or that the end was inevitable and that it was coming pretty soon.”
Despite challenging personal circumstances, King has made his most accomplished work to date.
The album has already received widespread critical acclaim.
“Blues guitar prodigy’s second solo LP, with added pop smarts… fervid heavy soul and hook-heavy blues-rock” – MOJO
“This second solo album from the 26 year old South Carolina guitarist is gritty, punchy and hooky” – Classic Rock
“The preternaturally gifted King [leads] a muscular power trio that rumbles like it’s 1969” – Uncut
“There’s so much soul in all of King’s work — it’s like he can’t help but infuse everything he creates with a certain kind of rawness” – Consequence Of Sound
“The guitar-heavy, bruising Young Blood, sounds like it’s been animated by the gods of hedonistic Seventies rock & roll” – Rolling Stone Magazine
King has been an outlier from the very beginning. A fourth-generation musician from Greenville, SC, who learned guitar at age 3 from his blues rock musician father Marvin King. He navigated troublesome school years to quickly become known as one of the most promising young artists of our time. He followed his breakout success with The Marcus King Band, with his Auerbach produced 2020 solo album debut, El Dorado. It garnered a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album” and critical praise from NPR to Rolling Stone.
King will continue to tear up the rulebook with the release Young Blood, redefining the route to modern rock stardom with a timeless sound and a singular voice, equal parts grease and grit, set to soon establish him as one of the most soulful vocalists of his generation.
Marcus King is currently on a world tour and recently performed at dates across the UK and Europe. He has just announced a further huge run of shows across the USA for the autumn including two nights at New York’s Beacon, Nashville’s legendary Ryman and Atlanta’s Tabernacle. For more information please visit: marcuskingofficial.com/tour
Young Blood will be released August 26 on Rick Rubin’s American Records/Republic Records/Snakefarm. Pre-order available here: https://MK.lnk.to/youngblood
