Album Review: ‘The Burden of Empathy’ by King No-One

The deep bassline and raw vocals cover the whole track, with multiple layers of other instruments added throughout the four-and-a-half minutes. It’s a relatively slow, yet intriguing start to the album. The final minute of the song is completely instrumental, filling the listeners’ ears with a steady drumbeat and synthesizers that sound like they’ve come straight from outer space. 

As the first track fades out, the album continues with the immediately intense drum beat of ‘Turkey Dinosaurs’, a single the band released late last year. On this upbeat track, Lount sings about how “the kids on TV ain’t like me and my friends”. He talks about how he grew up in a small town where the streets and the homes never change, and how escaping such a place can be really difficult. This is followed by ‘Scumbag’, the single the band released only last month. Guitar and drum-heavy, it shares sentiments similar to the previous track. Here, Lount sings about growing up and coming-of-age in a household with little to no money. “Not so skint when you’ve had a couple drinks,” Lount sings in the song’s second verse about how the little money available is spent on beers rather than necessities. These two tracks together seem to talk about issues faced in many small towns in England, where many people grow up poor and never quite make it out of these circumstances.

The album then moves on to ‘Manchester Rain’, a song more reminiscent of the first track, ‘Some Kind of Romance’, and its dark sound. ‘Manchester Rain’ almost feels like a spoken-word performance, a rant against the regime set to a simple beating of the drums. While King No-One originally hails from York, the three band members ended up moving to Manchester, and perhaps this song was inspired by exactly that. The song’s verses mention many more issues that come up in today’s political climate. The band speaks out against poverty – “the kids with their hoods up forgoing their meals” – and against governments “financing fiddles and public deception”. At the same time, the song also mentions many things that they’ve found to be beautiful about Manchester, such as St. Peter’s Square being “peaceful, cultured, and full of love”. It’s a song that oozes hope and pride, that voices that even in the darkness, there’s light. 

Fifth on the album is the single ‘Blake’, released right at the start of the year. While this track again notes that “children are going hungry”, continuing what has already been discussed on the album so far, its chorus is quite optimistic. Lount encourages the listener to “exist on your own terms” and “be the one you want”. Drums and guitars grow ever more rapid in these choruses, strengthening the feeling shared by Lount. It’s a very catchy track that might be the one the listener is most likely to put on repeat. Funnily enough, in the next track, ‘Transgressions’, Lount shares how he’s always been “overly cynical”. This single, released last year, isn’t “overly cynical” at all, however. Instead, it’s an upbeat love song about meeting your lover for the first time and knowing that you’ve struck gold. The chorus is a simple, happy repetition of the words “Bom bom bada, baby I belong to you”. Thanks to his significant other, Lount has learned to let go of past transgressions and has grown as a person. It’s an adorable song about becoming who you were always meant to be, thanks to someone caring enough to let you do so. 

Halfway through the album, it is time for its title track, ‘The Burden of Empathy’. This slower track is almost five minutes long and, as the title might have already let on to believe, speaks about how Lount “feel[s] too much” and is crushed by that burden. In this song again, King No-One discusses how hard it is to care about everyone and everything when there’s “endless grieving and constant conflict” in the world humanity lives in. How empathic Lount is especially shown in the final verse. Here, he sings about a kid who used to bully him, yet Lount still felt bad for him because his father committed suicide. He doesn’t feel resentment; instead, he sings how “nobody held that boy”, stating that he never received the love any kid deserves. This is a beautiful track that makes perfect sense as the album’s title track, as it really embodies the album’s concept and what King No-One stands for as a band.

In the eighth track, ‘Nosebleed’, Lount sings about a past relationship. From the lyrics, it seems that he and his past lover were not so open about this relationship, with Lount asking “Do your mates know you’re masking all your traits ‘cause you’re worried that they’ll hate you”. This is definitely not your standard song reminiscing about a past lover. It’s a visceral song that builds up really well, making the listener feel Lount’s desperation as he wonders if he’ll ever see the other person again, let alone kiss them. This might be one of the strongest tracks on the album, both lyrically and instrumentally. 

‘Happy AF’ is a cheerful track about simply wanting “to be happy”. This relatively straightforward track is easy to bop and sing along to, and is a real breather after some of the heavier tracks on this album. While it’s not necessary to give the listener a break, as many listeners surely appreciate how King No-One discusses relatable stories of living in the modern world and the political issues that come with it, it feels nice. Of course, this happy-go-lucky mindset can’t take the overhand, and the album then does a complete 180. ‘Happy AF’ is followed by the tearjerker ‘Goodbye My Love’, a break-up song where Lount’s raw vocals stand out once more. The track is set to just the notes of a piano as Lount sings about losing his lover. It is one of the shortest songs on the album and the only piano ballad. 

The energy picks back up again with ‘Note Boys’, released at the end of January as a single. King No-One wrote this song about men struggling to be honest and open to each other in their friendships. It was written when Lount and Martin were living together, and, when not seeing each other as much for a brief period, leaving each other notes. The notes got more and more detailed – sometimes, it’s easier to write your feelings on a post-it note rather than share them out loud with your male friends. It’s a song about platonic love between men, never voicing that feeling of love out loud, as it’s so embedded in male culture that this is not something men do. It’s a really important track that is also lovely to listen to. Lount’s honest words are set to the strumming of guitars, strings, and the beating of the drums, the speed picking up in each chorus.

Finally, the album ends with ‘Decent Human Beings’. The lyrics take the listener back to the title track as Lount sings, “everything you believe should be everything to do”. In this track, King No-One pleads to whoever listens to be more than simply a decent human being. As stated in the bridge, “it’s always been the same, the people, the rat race, just different generations”. As long as no one looks themselves in the eyes and makes the changes that need to be made, humanity will never evolve, and history will keep repeating itself. This indie-rock anthem is a perfect closer for The Burden of Empathy, recapping what the band has been trying to say on this album. It is important to care for the people and the world around you, and despite it possibly feeling as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders, there need to be people who will stand up for what they believe in. Without empathy, there will be no growth.