Krooked Kings is composed of band mates Oliver Martin, David Macey, Matthew Monossan,Paul Colgan and Quinton Casper , and together they deliver an up-beat indie-rock sound that combines youthful, poppy notes with an underlying indie grit and grunge-esque guitars.

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Krooked Kings aren’t afraid of saying it how it is. Their unpretentious indie rock takes influence from The Strokes, Bon Iver and Peach Pit while their lyrics reflect the constant, churning coming of age that is being a twenty-something in America. “We just want to make music that will move people,” explains drummer Quinn Casper. 

The first iteration of Krooked Kings came after vocalist Oliver Martin returned home from a mission for the Mormon Church and felt lost, bored and confused, transitioning out of the church at the same time. Listening to Bon Iver's frustrated debut album ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ inspired him to pick up a guitar. “I just found it very therapeutic,” he explains, able to express feelings he’d previously repressed for the first time. “Music is how I deal with a lot of my trauma.” 

Eventually he crossed paths with Quinn, Keyboardist Dave Macey, bassist Matt Monossan and guitarist Paul Cogan at The University Of Utah, with each member bringing something new to the table. Dave and Paul spent their teenage years at DIY Salt Lake city venue Kilby Court moshing to local rock bands, giving the music a smirking scrappiness while Matt is really into house music, which is where that euphoric urgency comes from. 

“Every song we write feels more like a Krooked King song now all five of us are collaborating on them,” says Paul. “It’s constantly evolving. Trying to define it just stifles creativity, anyway. We’d rather just write what feels right.” 

The band formed with the ambition to play shows at campus parties but as things progressed, they put more energy into the band than their studies. “We realised Krooked Kings was quickly becoming more than a fun college band, and we all wanted to see where it could go,” says Matt. 

Rumbling debut single ‘Hesitation’ came in 2018 while debut album ‘The Comedown’ followed three years later. “We’d all just left college and life felt very different,” starts Matt with the album exploring those big, intimate questions of belonging, identity and self-discovery. Breakout tracks ‘Bird Scooter’ and ‘’69 Subaru’ racked up millions of streams on Spotify while energetic live shows saw fans screaming back lyrics before confiding in the band about how much their music meant to them. “The songs are about such specific moments for us, but seeing them connect to other people, it was extremely validating,” says Oliver. “It’s when I feel closest to the music.” 

“That reaction is still pretty surreal, but I think it’s happening because of how raw the emotion is,” adds Paul. Rather than chasing those huge live moments, Krooked Kings focused on catharsis when it came to writing follow-up ‘All Out Of Good Days’. Still, the sleek album is still more upbeat, more direct than what came before. “It’s just more fun playing faster songs, isn’t it,” grins Matt. 

Over the past few years, the venues have gotten bigger, the crowds have gotten louder and every release has had more of an impact. “We’re getting more ambitious all the time,” says Paul, with the band heading out on their first ever European tour towards the end of 2023. 

 ‘All Out Of Good Days’ is a celebration of the band doing things their own way, which is not always the easiest thing to do in Utah with the state’s entire culture influenced by Mormonism. “It’s challenging people to do whatever the fuck they want to do with their lives,” says Paul. 

The record also tenderly touches on themes like depression and climate anxiety though. “We just wanted to be a little more specific about what we were talking about,” says Dave. “We were also just more comfortable being around each other,” adds Quinn. He’d known the other members of the band for a year before recording ‘The Comedown’ but the years of touring that followed had solidified the five-piece into an inseparable group.

 “We just felt comfortable to really wear our hearts on our sleeves,” he adds, with Krooked Kings a safe space to explore topics that might otherwise feel taboo. That sense of community flows through the music and the live show as well. “Screaming lyrics that came from somewhere negative in a room together, that’s incredibly empowering,” says Oliver. 

Following the release of ‘All Out Of Good Days’, Krooked Kings quickly returned to the studio to work on their third full-length album, which is due early 2024. “It feels like the older sister of our previous records,” says Quinn, promising something faster and more in-your-face. “Because music is such therapy for me, I just felt like I had more to say,” adds Oliver, who believes people are connecting because of those direct conversations. “We’re not afraid to go there, and we try to make that as comfortable as possible. It’s empathy, on a broad scale.” 

Despite the difficult topics Krooked Kings tackle, their music never feels oppressive or bleak though. “That just comes from playing rock music in a room with your friends,” says Quinn before Oliver adds: “I want to build a community around Krooked Kings that’s based on an understanding and a love for one another. The music might start from a place of sadness or angst but ultimately, this band is about finding joy wherever you can and realising you’re never alone.”

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