REVIEWS!         CHRONIQUES!

Here are just a few of the many reviews we've gotten over the past few years... Some have a link to the review itself... Thanks to all those who listened and wrote what they thought about our music...

Voici quelques commentaires qui ont ιtι publiι dans les journaux depuis quelques annιes.  Quelques-uns ont aussi un lien vers l'article mκme sur le web! Ils sont touts en anglais pour le moment car je dois trouver une faηon de "scanner" mes chroniques francos (i.e. faire marcher mon photoshop!!!)

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   MONTREAL - Sept. 2000

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The Kingpins Plan Of Action Stomp  Review by Mick Sleeper

Montreal's rudest hipsters are back, and Plan Of Action is an album that might catch some by surprise. The Kingpins are now leaner and meaner, with the line-up being whittled down to just four people. Looking at the cover of the album, there's nary a skinny tie or porkpie hat in sight, the band looking more like a punk outfit than the stereotypical ska band. This leaner approach seems to serve them well on the album, however it's also a step back for the band in some ways.
If you were to listen to The Kingpins' three albums (Watch Your Back, Let's Go To Work and now Plan Of Action), you might be forgiven for thinking that Plan was their debut, and the more sophisticated Let's Go To Work was their latest. Any good band gets groovier as time goes on, and while nothing on Plan Of Action is crude, it's very much a stripped down sound, almost rough around the edges. Stand out songs include the aggressive title track, the wonderfully melancholy "Designated Driver," and the equally moody "All The World's A Cage."
Like that other great ska band The Selecter, who came back as a new band rather than settle for a comeback as an old one, The Kingpins aren't afraid of change. Plan Of Action is a great example of "out with the old, in with the new", and while not as enjoyable as their previous work, let's give the band full marks for following their muse rather than ska stereotypes.    

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LIVE! - EN CONCERT!       The Brickyard, Saint John, NB - March 30, 2001
giraffecycle.com

The Kingpins (guests Badfish)
Since I don't regularly listen to ska music, I don't know much about it. But out of all of the ska bands that I have seen, I would say that The Kingpins are the best by far.
Every one of them is damn talented and they put on a great live show. They played one song after another with no interruptions, except when the singer threw candy out at the audience.
When they first started, I thought that they reminded me of No Doubt a little bit, but as they played more songs, I found out that they are much better than that. They are full of so much energy and are so up beat and I feel bad for all of those who missed the show. They are definitely a band that is worth seeing. Everybody dances but me. Yay.
The Kingpins are on Stomp Records and are from Montreal. I suggest that anybody who likes ska or good music check them out.
Matthew Wilson

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LIVE! - EN CONCERT!        (Saint John, NB - March 2000 - mars 2000)

Ska Down Saint John Way - by Lloyd Crandall
Jamaican Ska music is a much loved indulgence of mine, so I am overjoyed whenever the opportunity presents itself to indulge in a healthy evening of dancing, such as when the Kingpins visited the Brickyard Lounge this past March.
Before I continue, I want to give a brief lesson in Jamaican music for those among the many who have not been exposed to a full appreciation of the history of this now popular music called the Ska. In the late 1950's, with Jamaica's independence, and the spread of the popularity of jazz and r&b on the island, a new, indigenous music form began to emerge. Incorporating such sounds as calypso, jazz, soul and early beat and rock music, ska music evolved into its own. Later, in the mid 6T's, this sound, began to slow to what became know as the rocksteady, which had a heavier, steadier rhythm, and later became what the world now knows as reggae music. The Kingpins are certainly one of Canada's most solid exponents of these sounds.
The band's line-up has been somewhat of a fluid entity during the past year, and this East coast leg of shows was no exception. The band has lost their trumpeter, Jesse Radz, as well as songwriter/guitarist Bobby Beaton (who has gone on to revive his notorious garage tyrants, the Gruesomes), so numbers were slightly decreased. The evening was still a memorable experience, with Simon Angell of Montreal's ambient jazz-ska-dub band Gangster Politics sitting in on guitar. On top of all of this, sax-smoker Josh Fuhrman was feeling terribly under the weather. Regardless, the set was tight and very soulful.
The audience was treated to many selections from all three of their available studio releases, as well as selections from the tried and true canon of soul, beat, and ska numbers of yesteryear (including "Band of Gold," and one of my favorites, the Blues Busters' "I Don't Know"). Also present was a slew of new material including a good deal of straight ska and rocksteady tunes from JFK, a jazzy number penned by Fuhrman, and Beaton's latest Kingpin's creation "On the Right Track."
The influx of new talent has managed to add to the Kingpins' already solid sound. Fuhrman's sax playing provides a rich jazz vein, which was present in the handful of instrumentals which the band jammed on (and Angell's Ernie Ranglin influenced playing didn't hurt either), while JFK manages to bring a much appreciated late 6T's rocksteady and early reggae sound (imported from his work with Winnipeg's Conspirators). One need only listen to their new take on the instrumental "Mata Hari," enhanced by JFK's toasting (a style of singing popularized by Jamaican DJ's), to gain a sense of the new sound that the band is incorporating into their already varied catalogue.
Of course, many of the old elements remain. "Boom Boom" Boulanger's metronomic drumming continues to propel the band, while bassist and Stomp Records founder, Jordan Swift provides the rumbling rhythms which rise up from the belly of the band. And, there is no leaving out the Queen of Ska, Lorraine Muller, who contributes sultry and simmering sax and vocals, all the while lending some matriarchal management to this otherwise boy's club.
With groups such the Kingpins spearheading the Canadian Ska scene, the future looks bright for this much misunderstood Jamaican sound, as an integral part of what is an international maintenance of this music in independent circles. Forget what you know, and take a lesson from the Kingpins, for this is the Ska authentic!

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http://www.interlog.com/~lamedog/music/rec/quickspins/index.html#kingpins

by Don Mark “Lamedog”

The Kingpins
Let's Go To Work
(Stomp)
3.5 / 5

Few bands are writing really potent ska music these days, and while The Kingpins are certainly no exception to that claim, they also manage to stay pretty clear of the novelty trap that so many goofball ska bands fall into. Sure, there's some silly party music on this disc ("The Coconut Song" and "King Of The Jungle" being the prime culprits), but it also contains sweet, sad ballads ("Don't Stay Away", "Last Train To Expo '67"), lurid tales of young gangsters ("Johnny Rock Steady"), and the kind of enthusiastic mixing of styles ("Honourable Hong Kong Ska") that made their debut disc such an enjoyable treat. The Kingpins eschew the boorish smartass ska/punk of bands like Smashmouth in favour of breezily reviving the spirit of their stylistic forefathers. They swing a little harder than those '60's bands -- witness the full wig-out of "I Told You Not To Cry" -- but the nod is undeniably there.

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(MONTREAL - "The Link" - 1999)

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(circa 1996) http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/4923/kingpins.txt

The Kingpins, one of the best Montreal ska bands!  Their unique 
blend of  surf, 2-tone ska, garage, sound, makes them one of 
excelling bands on this planet.  With members from A Dream I Had, 
The Cryptics,  Ellam for Zoe, Skavacadoes (Washington DC).  It's 
no wonder that this band is such a winning combination. 
The kingpins came out with a single in 1995 called "On The Run".  
This single has 3 skankin' songs on it; On The Run; Spy VS Spy; 
Leave My Girlfriend Alone.  To support the single the Kingpins 
travelled to Toronto for the first.  At the Beginning of 1996 
the Kingpins won THe Montreal Independent Music Industry (MIMI's) 
Award For Single Of The Year!
The Kingpins launch their first full length CD (Watch Your Back)* 
on November 9th 1996, at Club Soda in Montreal to a sold-out crowd 
of over 450 people.  With the launch of Watch Your Back just behind 
us The Kingpins have a lot of plans.  With concerts already lined up 
in the US, and plans to launch a 7", The Kingpins future is not a 
dull one.
The Kingpins also have one of the best web pages I have seen...  
If you would like to visit it, it's at: www.thekingpins.com