To anyone not paying close attention, The K’s might seem like they’ve come out of nowhere. A few years ago, the Earlestown four-piece were playing sticky pub basements to a couple of hundred people. Now, they’re playing the main stages of festivals, and last year, their debut album, I Wonder If the World Knows?, hit #3 on the Official Album Charts and had the second biggest debut album of 2024. But despite their seemingly meteoric rise, the band have slowly built up a devoted fanbase throughout the years, tirelessly promoting their music and putting on shows to get their name out there. Now, they’re getting ready for the release of their second album, Pretty on the Internet, a mere year after the release of their debut.
“It feels like it was ten years ago,” chuckles guitarist Ryan Breslin, incredulously, reflecting on the release of I Wonder If the World Knows?. “We kind of knew that album two was coming. I think you’ve got kind of, like, come back with the second album pretty quick to keep people sort of excited.”
“We’re not catering for one specific sort of generation or a sort of crowd”
Ryan Breslin, the k’s
So, last year, when the band received a phone call the day before Christmas asking them to have album two done by February, the pressure was on – not only to write and record an album in a month but also to overcome the curse of the “difficult” second album. “For the first album, we were turning them songs for, like, seven years, so we knew which people liked and what the crowds’ reactions were. So we kind of got feedback and changed bits and sort of ‘hand-selected’ the album,” Ryan explains. But the process of writing Pretty on the Internet was completely different. “With this one, it was kind of: you’ve got a couple of months, you’re touring, and now here’s your second album, pull it together.”
Now, soon to be armed with a second album, the band are gearing up to play these songs live up and down the country, including headline shows at London’s 3000-capacity Roundhouse and O2 Academies in Leeds, Birmingham, and Bristol – venues double the size of those they were playing this time last year. “We honest to God can’t wait,” Ryan beams. “We always think that people are coming from away; people are coming out on nights and leaving their family at home or whatever, spending their own money on it, coming to watch our gigs. So we always, like, want them to walk away feeling that they’ve got something worthwhile [out of it] and everyone’s had the best time they can.”
“We learn so much stagecraft doing little intimate gigs, how to bounce off each other”
And if there’s one thing The K’s know how to do (aside from pulling an album together in a month), it’s putting on a live show for the ages. In fact, it’s through this word of mouth about their live shows that The K’s are partly to thank for their recent rise to fame. “I think our strong suit is playing live, and I think the songs back it up,” Ryan reflects, with a chuckle, before adding, “My grandma still comes to shows. We’re not catering for one specific sort of generation or a sort of crowd. We’re staying true to ourselves and just doing what we believe is good, and people seem to like it!”
But as incredible as The K’s are live, they wouldn’t have made it without the independent grassroots venues that gave them a platform to hone their live shows before breaking into the mainstream. Now, many of these venues are in danger of closing, and some have already closed. Rising bills and high rent, amongst other factors, are to blame. In the last 20 years, 35% of grassroots venues have shut down, and in 2023 alone, 125 venues abandoned live music, and half of these shut entirely. In fact, the first two venues The K’s played in Manchester have now closed, as has Nambucca, the venue where they played one of their first London shows. “If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have done our first gig. We wouldn’t be playing The Roundhouse now,” Ryan acknowledges.
“I think it builds your character as an individual and as a musician, and you get your stagecraft,” Ryan reflects. “We learn so much stagecraft doing little intimate gigs, how to bounce off each other. Things go wrong: your amp will blow up, but you improvise, and I think it just sort of preps you for the bigger stages and doing the business on them.”
And if all goes to plan, these bigger stages are only the beginning for The K’s. But no matter what kind of success the boys achieve, Ryan is determined to stay the same as he’s always been. “I think my mum and dad would still beat the shit out of me if I said I’d made it,” he grins. “We had a working-class area and council estate sort of childhood. I don’t see how I could change who I am, and I think the lads are exactly the same because it’s just who we are. And I think that’s why we have such a close connection with the crowd because we don’t look at it as if we’re a band on stage.” At the end of their shows, The K’s are known for taking pictures with fans, signing autographs, and perhaps even going for a drink or two with them.
However, the bigger they’ve become, the more they’ve had to change to fulfil the role of professional musicians and not just four friends in a band. Music and shows aside, this also sometimes means going for a walk or run or eating healthier in between shows. “We’re kind of looking after ourselves and just being cautious,” Ryan notes before continuing, “I don’t want to sound a bit cringy, but I think the fact we’re together really helps. If someone falls down, you just kind of pick them up, and everyone sticks together as one big team.”
With Pretty on the Internet on the horizon and their biggest headline tour to date just around the corner, The K’s are showing no signs of slowing down. They’ve built something rare: a loyal fanbase, a reputation for electrifying live shows, and a refusal to compromise who they are, no matter how big their venues get. “I think that’s just sort of our mentality: to aim for the top and see what happens. So that’s where we’re going,” Ryan says with a grin. And if the past year is anything to go by, the world won’t just know The K’s, but they’ll be showing up to their shows and singing every word back to them.
Pretty on the Internet is out June 27.
The K’s ‘Pretty On The Internet’ Tour
15th April – Limelight 2, Belfast
16th April – Whelan’s, Dublin
18th April – Great Hall, Cardiff
25th April – Octagon Centre, Sheffield
26th April – Asylum, Hull University Union, Hull
8th May – Rock City, Nottingham
9th May – O2 Academy, Birmingham
10th May – O2 Academy, Leeds
13th May – Roundhouse, London
17th May – O2 Academy, Bristol
22nd May – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
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