Today brings an exclusive track premiere and pre-order announcement for King Slender’s second full-length, “There Is Your Image In Light”, and we’re stoked to give you the first listen of “Kirby”! For a song that works within a style that’s already been thoroughly explored, there’s an unexpected amount going on here – layers, small left turns, and an oddly adventurous feel that keeps opening up rather than settling into muscle memory, hinting that the album has more depth than its surface suggests. Can’t wait!
The Philadelphia-based band follows up 2023’s “Gold Days” with a nine-song record released as a six-label collaboration, anchored by Tor Johnson Records and joined by Immigrant Sun Records, Oliver Glenn Records, Far From Home Records, Slow Down Records, and Dancing Rabbit Records.
“Kirby” sits at the blunt end of the record’s spectrum. “Kirby is the most straight-forward ripper out of all the tracks on the record. Sometimes the simplest thing to do is the best thing.”
The band built the song around physical push-and-pull rather than nuance — “strangle people during the verse and explode on the chorus” — and then cut the explanation short: “At the end of the day, sometimes you just want to rock. Here’s a pretty good example of that.”
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“There Is Your Image In Light” as a whole is positioned differently. The record pulls together disjointed rhythms, caterwauling guitars, and fervent vocals under what they call a straight-ahead, song-driven approach. The nine tracks compress a year of intense personal struggle into a single, unified response to the idea that whatever life is currently handing out should be treated as normal or acceptable. “It’s not.” The album is an argument against that normalization, not as a solution or a recovery narrative.
Musically, the reference points are specific and unromantic: Shotmaker, Sleepytime Trio, and Crownhate Ruin. The record leans into screamo, harsh emotional hardcore that will strike you right through your heart.
The vinyl pressing reflects that attention to format: 105 green/black ripple copies as a Tor Johnson Records exclusive, including 15 copies with exclusive Limited To One Record Store variant packaging; 101 clear/green/black splatter copies; and 104 clear/green cloudy copies.
Pre-orders are live via Tor Johnson Records, with the release supported by Immigrant Sun Records, Oliver Glenn Records, Far From Home Records, Slow Down Records, and Dancing Rabbit Records.
The visual side of the project is tied in as well, with Teeth Like Swords Printing connected to the release. Together, the elements form a release that doesn’t over-explain itself. “There Is Your Image In Light” reads as a record built from pressure, released without ceremony, and introduced here through one of its most direct songs rather than its most complex moment.
Pre-orders are live via Tor Johnson Records, with the release supported by Immigrant Sun Records, Oliver Glenn Records, Far From Home Records, Slow Down Records, and Dancing Rabbit Records.
