I really like The Kingdom, even if the singer's voice sounds like Dave Matthews. This new Portland band is bros with The Thermals, with whom they share a similar style of music, although with less emphasis on the punk and more emphasis on the weird. Their songs start off pretty normal and to-the-point, but then they pull out these crazy strings and piano interludes that take it in a completely different direction.

And let's not forget the bizarreness of the lyrical content. They devoted a whole EP to former Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, and their upcoming debut full-length is a concept album about a race from Albany to NYC in vehicles that transform from snowmobiles to motorcycles to hydroplanes to helicopters. Give The Kingdom a few listens. I bet they grow on you.

The Kingdom play Knitting Factory, on Thursday, August 3rd.