When I listen to Ear Candy I enjoy it for it's melodies, the general good feeling it gives me and because it is extremely well played besides being well written.

Artists change and develop, the true mettle of a fine band is their willingness to try new things or in this case to make a somewhat psychedelic album that concentrates on simpler ideas without compromising the band's aesthetics.

I think King's X does so quite well on Ear Candy which gives it a special place alongside their other (equally different) albums.

If you need big crunch you won't find it here. If you want to hear the more pop side of King's X look no further.


King's X lighter side? Not quite so dark. Still Good!!!   May 10, 2007
G. Stewart (Chesapeake, VA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Ear Candy was released in stark contrast to the previous King's X album, Dogman which was dark, self-searching and responsive to the negatives in life.

This album begins with "The Train", a lighthearted romp in heavy rock. With this song, King's X seems to find some sunshine after the clouded world of Dogman (which I actually prefer to this album).

The rest of the fare offered is about the same. Lighter, pithier songs; lyrically speaking. Doug, Ty and Jerry still keep the hard rock pounding.

The album as a whole is good with some high and low points, but still very good overall. A definite must have for the King's X faithful. If you are new to the band, try some of their earlier stuff before you grab this one.


One of their more melodic albums (4.5 stars)   August 16, 2006
John Alapick (Wilkes-Barre, PA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

King's X released their sixth album, Ear Candy, in 1996. Unlike their previous album, the very heavy Dogman, Ear Candy saw the band go in a more melodic direction. Ty Tabor sings more leads than usual (he had no lead vocals on Dogman) and he plays a lot more lead guitar too. Also worth mentioning is that Jerry Gaskill's drumming here is top notch throughout and higher in the mix than usual. The opener "The Train" has been called metal meets psychedelia by many reviewers and that pretty much sums it up. After this, the tracks primarily fall between melodic and heavy with the emphasis on the former. As for the melodic, most of the tracks are top notch. "(Thinking and Wondering) What I'm Gonna Do" is an awesome track with an almost tribal feel and a very quiet lead vocal from Doug Pinnick while the excellent "Picture" speaks of a family reunion and has a cool ride out similar to their track "The Burning Down." While the band is well known for their excellent harmonies reminiscent of the Beatles, the track "American Cheese", which features lead vocals from Gaskill, actually sounds like something the Beatles would have written in their prime. Outstanding. Tabor also contributes two gems in the ballad "Life Goes By" and the very catchy "Mississippi Moon", a song that could have been a hit single if given a chance. As for the rockers, "Looking For Love" and "Run", a track which interestingly enough is one of their few to not have any harmonies, are very strong and contain riffs ala Led Zeppelin while "Sometime", not to be confused with the track "Sometimes" from their debut album, Out Of The Silent Planet, is another great song with the band's trademark harmonies. Other tracks like "A Box" and "Fathers" are also very good. Even the lesser tracks "Lies in the Sand" and "67" are pretty decent. All told, another strong album from one of the most enduring and talented rock bands around. Although this is currently out of print, it is worth scoping out.