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"Fantastic Freak Show Carnival"

	Press Reviews for "Fantastic Freak Show Carnival"

	"it is nothing short of fantastic, easily one of the best rock albums I have heard this year"...."the closer - Soul Searching Song - which runs over 11 minutes, takes the entire album, ties it all together conceptually and musically, and then closes the curtain on one dynamite album that is hard to forget." 9.5/10 - Progressiveworld.net
"In “Fantastic Freak Show Carnival”, King Bathmat has created an (almost) perfect form of escapism. It’s a chance to journey into another universe, one that has a distinctly more psychedelic-tinge, and most importantly is brilliant fun. In fact, it’s all the fun of the fair." - soundsxp "Fantastic Freak Show Carnival's psych-arena rock -- big, blunt Bends-ian chords cuddled by extravagant ELO harmonies"...."a flair for wicked hooks, which rear their infectious heads"..."fantastic stuff" - popmatters "music from another world"...."The suggestion that Bassett lives an insular life, free from knowledge of modern musical goings-on, couldn't be more ill-informed. On the contrary, Fantastic Freak Show Carnival suggests that he spent 20 years absorbing everything there is to hear in pop music, then developed his ability to effortlessly reproduce it all at once, without ever sounding derivative. Talk about a niche of your own..." - splendid magazine "An impressively diverse and fascinating piece of work".." If you like the sound of Pink Floyd wrestling with Kasabian, then King Bathmat will rock your world, a mindblower" - Ukmusicsearch reviews "What is so blindingly obvious throughout the album is that here is something that is going to appeal to those who revel in the fact that their musical tastes are out of the ordinary as well as appealing to the mainstream. The only thing holding these guys back is publicity and it isn't the strength of material as this is an album that i fell in love with the very first time I played it and each time I hear it I get something else from it. - Feedback Fanzine "KingBathmat, continues his idiosyncratic musical odyssey with probably his most aggressive, and certainly his best, album to date...Great Stuff indeed!" - DPRP.net "The song Fantastic Freak Show Carnival is really nifty, darting through movements yet sounding so coherently part of something bigger that you begin wondering if you're listening to some long forgotten rock opera by The Who - Tommy 2: Tommy Reloaded. Equally appealing is Ghost In The Fire which demonstrates a turn of phrase that is massively charming in a bitter, yet strangely polite way, and ends up catching a wave of absurd pop perfection like an English wing of the Super Furry Animals." MusicOMH "an impressively diverse offering, and you never know what to expect next" - subba-cultcha "a fantastic, listen-to-it-over-and-over record from a powered-up indie-rock trio"..."the album's lush arrangements and its diversity of material, Fantastic Freak Show Carnival at times recalls a simpler version of Brian Wilson's decades-delayed, recently released SMiLE" 4.5/5 - seaoftranquility.org "KingBathMat's style is a mix of Porcupine Tree, Anti-Depressive Delivery and the likes"...."Simply, this is an album every music lover has to hear." 9/10 - RockReview "KingBathmat has, in this album, produced its best work to date in all respects" - HHH "the sound is similar to early soundgarden with tinges of the beatle's magical mystery tour and black sabbath thrown in"... Medway Standard "a more psych driven Sondre Lerche, strong Andy Partridge walks through acid-drenched forests, some reflective Doves, some progressive Marillion(but early 70`s folk-prog bands,too) and vocally similarities to Crowded House. There`s a strong, clear progressive-rock spirit that sifts in and out of focus on much of the material. Unlike so many of the modern -day prog-rock bands, King Bathmat are writing songs, not jams, melodies, not loose-ideas based around riff-progressions. It`s this adventurous spirit that separates the band`s work inside the pop framework of indie music" Bruce Brodeen - not lame "A song called 'Rejection', for example, is bursting with psychedelic melody and big production values. 'Sweet Iris' is flowery and folky " - Leonards Lair music in belgium (France) musiq.no (Norway) Babyblaue (Germany) ojeweb.nl (Netherlands) Arlequins (Italy) melodick (france)

	Press Reviews for "Crowning Glory"

	"The dazzling 'Rain On' has the same flawed air of invincibility many people originally associated with John Squire's Seahorses when they heard 'Love Is The Law' for the first time. 'A Million Dreams' meanwhile is the sound of Angel Gabriel emitting a fanfare of guitar and moog over a half-sung, half-spoken diatribe: "Tonight you're mine forever, like a million dreams before" - Dom Gourlay DROWNED IN SOUND UK
"One minute clutching hands round the table and summoning the spirit of Syd Barrett, the next possessed by Edwyn Collins.............he shoots for the moon and beats Sondre Lerche to the surface, times when he plays Mozart to the Salieri of Coldplay and Doves" - LOGO MAGAZINE UK "Bassett's work truly is a crowning glory, and has the potential to attract both the commercial arm of the music industry, as well as the more discerning, eclectic music aficiandos".................."Bassett tinkers with influences so diverse, it's scary - Led Zeppelin-esque (circa #4),and turning the modern British tendancy to emulate other successful guitar bands on its head, delivering instead a remarkable, fresh look at what British music is (or should) be all about. KingBathmat's approach to both his music and self-promotion should be regarded as ambassadorial" - Album of the month MUSICWORKZ UK "Crowning Glory is a collection of 10 modern rock songs that are replete with instantly memorable melodies and superb musicianship and ably demonstrate that Bassett's skills as a songwriter are continuing to develop and progress"..."a veritable tour across genres ".."Do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy"... 9/10 DPRP "The 10 songs here are smart, haunting, introspective, clever and a little sad yet highly listenable"....."Bassett’s voice has improved tremendously between early 2003 and early 2004, to the point where it sounds like it should be heard by the masses".....SEA OF TRANQUILITY USA "...the fabulous, harpsichord-led “Almost There”, with its skittling drums and swooshy effects, is surely the number one song on Skylab."***...BIRDPAGES UK "Sophistication, great melodies 4/5" The Insight UK Mar 2004 "King Bathmat may just have sent out a warning to the middle-class safety valve of Damian Rice et al; there's a new contender in the ring, and this boy from Hastings means serious business." - DO SOMETHING PRETTY UK "The Genius of KingBathmat lies in the way in which he combines all these different influences into very accessible songs.....The sound on the album is amazing' 9/10 - ROCKEZINE NETHERLANDS "In a landscape where artists and bands are in such a rat race to be discovered and signed, Bassett opts to focus on product. This is very rewarding perspective which creates quite a rewarding effort. - BETTAWRECKONIZE (US) "If you’re into stylish, musical fumbling using all the right elements from the pop/rock universe, leaving out all the plastic, you should definately consider KingBathmats latest royal speech"......."this British eccentric proves that happy melancholy comes in CD-format"........ MUSIQ NORWAY "KingBathmat returns triumphantly with a new collection of ten terrific songs in Crowning Glory"......"The instrumentation and arrangements on Crowning Glory are a delight"....."John is in possession of that art of song writing, which feels as though the music has been around forever yet, simultaneously, is fresh and modern" - HHH "This guy is an extremely talented musician"....... Get Underground USA "Låtene på denne skiva blir i sammenligning mer lettvektere med et uforløst potensial i bunnen. Såret og utrøstelig spellemann til tross: han har litt igjen før han fyker helt til topps" - PANORAMA NORWAY (translation anybody?)
	Press Reviews For "Son of a Nun"

	"That Son of a Nun is a work of one man is quite stunning, it is not often that one comes across someone with a complete musical vision combined with the ability to record it all themselves. Put aside all questions of genre, this is simply a very fine album laden with great melodies, compelling songs and fine musicianship." DPRP - Recomended!
"As much a folk album as a heavy metal record, 'Son Of A Nun' signals the arrival of a strong talent." Leonards Lair "Why do mainstream-rock hacks like Avril Lavigne get signed to record deals and handed Grammy nominations while talented musicians like John Bassett continue to be overlooked?" Sea of Tranquility "John Bassett, aka King Bathmat, writes music that's a bit difficult to follow, stylistically speaking. One minute it's somewhere in between Eddie Money and Badly-Drawn Boy -- the latter might be a visual allusion -- and the next it sounds like a crazed circus organist covering a Bryan Adams song, complete with calliope and leather jacket. And that's just on the first two tracks! I hope it catches on" SPLENDIDEZINE "....Son of a Nun is a corker....a solo star in the making..." gigbite.com "Son Of A Nun is a brilliant album, debut or otherwise, and one that is going to be hard to follow"...."KingBathmat is on an altogether higher plain" HHH "high degree of musicianship,...a schizophrenic hippy crossing over into madness" ozonline "Absolutely wonderful, killer songs, WOW!!!" Miuzik.com "This can only be applauded"..."A highly recommended album for people who are open-minded about music" blissaquamarine "Hawkwindy type psychadelic buzz...fairground organ backed pop nugget intense rush.....he thinks big, i like that....." unsignedcentral "Unfortunate Soul starts out with a dramatic early Traffic or Cream psychedelic mood before settling into a metallic version of English folk music reminiscent of Jethro Tull at their creative peak" freecitymedia "Not Born 2 Share is pure Carnaby Street psychedelic pop, with bouncy organ, weirdo sci-fi synth effects, and melodic guitar breaks." Aural innovations "It is not surprising that Weather The Storm opens with storm sounds. Again, the song sticks well in your head, with a certain lightness in places. In other places, the guitar behaves like a cloud of angry bees." - The Axiom of Choice "For an independent release, the CD has an extraordinarily good production: People should take off their prog-, alterna-, indie- or whatever-blinkers and just listen to this" - The Edge of Time "Great catchy melodic rock songs, classic yet very modern sounding at the same time" Matchbox Recordings "Dead set Sexy, nearly flawless, we like it"......."excellent vocals"....."top notch production" Gods of Music