Episode 18: Alex Laska & Fergus Linacre – Kingswood
Kingswood
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If you’re someone who enjoys a bit of rock music and you haven’t found yourself listening to Kingswood at some point over the last decade or so, then you need to change that immediately.
Formed in Melbourne around the late 2000s, Kingswood wasted no time in letting their music get heard by the world. Following a self-titled EP in 2010, and their Change Of Heart EP in 2012, a competition run by triple j Unearthed to play the iconic Splendour In The Grass festival shot the band to wider fame that very same year.
In 2014, they released their first album, Microscopic Wars. An ambitious undertaking for a debut, the record was made in Nashville with six-time Grammy Award winning record producer, engineer, and mixer Vance Powell. The record was a huge hit, hitting #6 on the Australian charts, boasting a handful of singles and even being nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2014 ARIA Awards.
Personally, I find it hard to go past ‘I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me’ without being transported back to that bygone era.
Since then, Kingswood have been unleashing amazing tunes at every turn, with records like 2017’s After Hours, Close To Dawn, 2020’s Juveniles, and 2023’s Home showing the depth of their musical talents.
Now, a decade on from their debut, Kingswood are taking a look back at that first record and hitting the road in celebration of its tenth anniversary. The tour kicks off on August 2nd (that’s tonight, if you’re listening to this as it goes live) with a hometown show in Melbourne before they head off around the rest of the country.
The tour sees them playing the album in full along with a handful of their other heavier classics. Put simply, if you like Kingswood’s earliest material, you’d do well to catch them on this tour.
Ahead of their shows, I was lucky enough to join Kingswood in their Melbourne studio for a chat. Due to the casual nature of the conversation, you’ll hear a little bit of rustling and moving around on couches from time to time, but that’s just the name of the game.
Anyway, revisit Kingswood’s debut album, Microscopic Wars, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, grab a ticket to their tour (I’ll see you at the Melbourne show), and I’ll see you again at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.
Alex Laska & Fergus Linacre's Trusty Chords
Alex’s One Influential Artist
The Beatles
Fergus’ One Influential Artist
Cold Chisel
Alex’s Three Impactful Albums
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Second Helping (1974)
Dolly Parton – Hello, I'm Dolly (1967)
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Fergus’ Three Impactful Albums
Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear (2015)
Audioslave – Audioslave (2002)
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Fergus also named two more albums which were among his most-listened, these included Johnny Cash’s 1968 album At Folsom Prison, and Ella Fitzgerald’s 1956 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book.
Alex’s Five Trusty Songs
Ludwig van Beethoven – 'Symphony No. 9' (1824)
Sergei Rachmaninoff – 'Piano Concerto No. 2' (1901)
Frédéric Chopin – 'Fantaisie-Impromptu' (1855)
Queens Of The Stone Age – 'No One Knows' (2002)
BB King – 'Sweet Sixteen (Live In Africa 1974)' (1974)
Fergus’ Five Trusty Songs
Carlos Gardel – 'Por Una Cabeza' (1935)
Kanye West – 'Bound 2' (2013)
Father John Misty – 'The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt.' (2015)
Cold Chisel – 'Flame Trees' (1984)
Aerosmith – 'What It Takes' (1989)
