Too often, a debut EP is little more than a promotional device, incapable of standing alone as a fully realized piece of art. Not so with The Kingdom’s bizarre and wondrous Unitas, a surreal paean to the legendary Baltimore Colts quarterback. The conceptually complete and enthusiastically performed song-cycle finds singer/mastermind Charles Westmoreland re-imagining Johnny Unitas as a mythical deity hurling “the sun across the sky to the locomotive horse with dove wings,” and goes on to tell of a hero “in love and covered in horses’ blood” who plays a cosmic game of football in the heavens. In using a familiar sports hero as the metaphorical point of departure, Westmoreland offers a fitting example of The Kingdom’s aesthetic intent: the transformation of the easily recognizable trappings of contemporary indie rock (melodic guitar jangle, low-budget keyboards) into something otherworldly and divine.

Though Westmoreland’s distinctive poetics and metaphysics alone would make Unitas a compelling debut, the skyscraping vocals and keen melodies transform these songs from bedroom-born 4-track charm into basement party anthems, brimming with teenage abandon. From the complex, intersecting vocal lines of “I Am Constellation” to the soaring choruses of “Arcadia of My Youth,” the EP displays a knowing mastery of Zombies-esque pop, as played by a generation that embraced Guided By Voices, not U2, as rock’n’roll saviors. Though Portland has sprouted many promising pop savants of late, The Kingdom’s meticulous song-craft, coupled with their feverish, ebullient presentation, unite the visceral and the cerebral into an eminently enjoyable and erudite whole. Though their highly anticipated full-length won’t see release until early 2006, Unitas is more than just a promising debut—it is a succinct and highly original work of art, announcing the arrival of a thoroughly unique new talent.

"Insane originality that will seem fresh to even the most jaded of palates"
-- Willamette Week

"The intelligent and impressionistic lyrics that the Kingdom’s lead singer, Chuck Westmoreland, yelps are a perfect complement to the band’s distracted post-punk"
-- The Oregonian

"The Kingdom sings lyrics that court the cosmos"
-- The Oregonian A&E