Remember the quote “...the band you love to hate”? It once fitted Marilyn Manson and Coal Chamber. But, with the release of Vibrate You, various people quoted it for the four-piece King Adora (named after a giant sex toy, maybe that’s why…).

And although their status isn’t quite so big outside their own UK, it’s definitely not the lack of quality! Holding more make-up than Christina Aguilera on a Saturday night, being more ‘sex-inspired’ than Placebo and using catchier guitar riffs than Muse, these fourteen songs leave you amazed till the last seconds. And there’s an obvious reason.

What’s it then, with this band, I hear you wondering? It’s not metal, it’s not quite rock, these are just plain guitar-pop songs, with some influences from the bands mentioned (except Christina, of course). Their first album, Vibrate You, features twelve songs, from which most are previously released on Top 30-singles (in the UK), such as “Bionic”, “Friday Night Explodes” and the rather sarcastic “Big Isn’t Beautiful” (a song about an anorexic male). It simply holds good, catchy, but rather short songs, that get you jumping from the first tones of the opener “Smoulder” to the endtones of “Suffocate”.

Strongest points are the use of two guitars, and the wonderful screaming/singing voice of Maxi Browne.

Also, this band seems to have the best live sound, although I can’t make any promises about that. Fact is, that all the songs are definitely made for live shows, and sound less good on the records. They’re straight to the point, without wasting valuable disc space for intro’s, outro’s and that shit. And that seems to be the only weak thing on Vibrate You; the songs sounds okay, but could have used a bit better mastering, since the songs appear a little messy. Some are louder than others and don’t quite seem to flow into each other. This is just one negative point. And the only one.

If you’re not into pop because it’s not loud enough, and prefer more guitars, and you like a bit of screaming and over-the-top vox, Vibrate You might be a good release for you. If you like it, you might wanna get your hands on the special edition, which features two bonus songs and five (!) videos.