The Purple Shades refuse to be anything but themselves and their new EP, Kings of Summer' is testament to that.

With a sense of experimentation similar to that of Panic at the Disco and a list of influences that includes Arctic Monkeys and Bob Dylan 'Kings of Summer' is a concept EP that hits more than it misses and shows the band’s potential to make waves.

On the surface, this is a body of work that looks back on the freedom that once was before the cold, mundane reality of adulthood set in but scratch a little deeper and you’ll realise that it’s so much more than that.

There’s an almost Alex Turner-esque sensibility—especially in 'Blunder'—to the lyrics as The Purple Shades take on nostalgia in the face of ever-marching time (Splintered Memories), taking control of your emotions (21.2), and the farcical nature of the political world (Baboons).

'Blunder' deserves a special mention because it sums up the experimental ethos of the band. As the lyrics touch on everything from escapism to capitalism, The Purple Shades constantly flirt with making turning the song into a blunder (pun intended).

The rhythms are so intricate that they threaten to fly off the tracks and the melodies sometimes crescendo to the point that their sense of theatrically almost seems self-parodying but vocalist Dylan Boddy and co. always mange to keep things somewhat under control.

With Kings of Summer, The Purple Shades could be the shakeup that the rock world needs. Their unadulterated experimentation and their determination to be themselves capture the essence of what it means to create art.

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