Single Review: Alvarez Kings - Words I Couldn't Say

‘Words I Couldn’t Say’ is a rather ironic title for the latest single from Yorkshire pop band Alvarez Kings. There isn’t much to say at all with the track itself - as it is generic, bland, and safe. There is very little of note or substance here, although the song is a pleasant enough listen.

There’s no denying that the quartet have talent (their debut album Somewhere Between will tell you that) – but here they do almost nothing with it. Simon Thompson leads the group with an admittedly decent voice, but his words feel identical to almost every other pop song from the mid-2010s. Rather than emotional, the lyrics come across as self-pitying. Rather than upsetting, the song is, frankly, dull.

Nothing here distinguishes ‘Words I Couldn’t Say’ from almost every pop song we’ve heard in the last five years. There’s no power behind the single at all – you’d be easily forgiven for mistaking it for one of any number of similar poppy, upbeat, summery tunes that are released around this time every year. And there’s nothing here to make the Alvarez Kings track stand out from the crowd.

It’s a shame that this single isn’t much good. Somewhere Between showed how Alvarez Kings were capable of much better, but ‘Words I Couldn’t Say’ sadly fails to match or exceed anything on that album. Hopefully, the rest of their upcoming project can evolve their sound beyond pop mundanity.

Words: Matt Taylor