New Town Kings premiers “Pack Up Bye Bye” video

New Town Kings, a nine-piece UK ska-reggae sensation out of New Town, Colchester, is making major media waves once again with the premier of “Pack Up Bye Bye”. The single is the first off the band’s upcoming third album – with release date and title pending – and is currently working its way around the internet attached to a stylish new video by producer Sam Bear. Following the band’s previous two LPs M.O.J.O. and Sounds of the New Town, New Town Kings debuted Pull Up and Rewind – an EP landing rave reviews in 2014 and cementing NTK as a popular name in British reggae. With the new single providing a taste of what’s to come, fans won’t be dissatisfied as more of the third album manifests.

The track centers around dysfunctional relationships and the inevitable point in which one pulls the plug: pack up, please leave, thank you for your time. Dark situation aside, New Town Kings has managed to shed light on the subject by infusing humor within the realm of dating gone wrong. This is especially evidenced within the animated video where each band member is portrayed as puppets controlled by a puppet master – literally paper dolls being picked up against their will and placed within the custody of a female succubus. Like a monster, this female antagonist has laser beams for eyes, blinding men from seeing beneath the surface of her “BOOM”ing body to her true identity. At one point in the video, NTK players are stumbling for balance to play their instruments in front of the femme fatale as the earth quakes beneath their feet; the band implies a juxtaposition to both the mental and physical challenge within a destructive relationship and how much focus is required to persevere. Instead of trying to work out an unsolvable problem, NTK comically flips the script on an all-controlling woman by sending her packing first. The video fades out with the lead singer standing alone in a bare box, symbolizing the clean slate he now possesses as well as the emotional room left empty in his heart to welcome another woman to move in. It is now up to him if the cycle continues.

With over 500 shows across 10 countries since their formation under their belt, New Town Kings continue to tour at this summer’s Boomtown Fair and Rebellion Punk Music Festival as well as showcase their talents as direct support for The Slackers in a European tour this coming September.

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