King Isis Hypnotizes the El Rey Theatre in LA

While the stylings and ambience of California-based King Isis exist just outside of what the English language can describe, a few words do come to mind: haunting, hypnotic, and even heavenly. Joining indie singer-songwriter mehro on their “the Reason to Live” North American tour, King Isis has entranced crowds across North America as they made their way back to their West Coast roots.

Drawing influence and elements from genres ranging from rock to jazz, the self-proclaimed “punk rock fairy prinxess” has carved out a fully unique sound that does land somewhere within the range of alternative-rock. It’s hard to contain their music within any singular box of genre, given that it contains layers of varying influences merged to form a fluid, irresistible frequency that inherently draws listeners in for more. What can be said definitively, from my point of view, is that King Isis wields both immense talent and potential in equal measure.

Armed with just a black acoustic guitar, embellished with a minimalist white crown sticker, the LA transplant returned to their home away from home and greeted a bustling El Rey Theatre by jumping into their first song, “macho man”. To the surprise to fans of King Isis in the crowd and photo pit, it became clear that the entire set would continue to be solo and acoustic. The singer soon dispelled any trace of disappointment or doubt by flaunting their fierce vocal capacity as they dove into the song’s repeating, closing lines of “maybe I’ll start feeling something / maybe I’ll start feeling something”. With or without a full band, the energy King Isis carries immediately fills the room the minute that they begin to perform, holding the attention of everyone present within the palm of their hand.

As King Isis made their way deeper into the night, the chattering of the crowd gradually began to quiet as more and more attendees turned their energy to nodding and swaying along to the softer, acoustic renditions of the artist’s normally rock-oriented songs. During a spirited cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” towards the middle of the set, a few scattered voices throughout the crowd even began to cheer and sing along as the singer belted out “here we are now, entertain us” and “hello, hello, hello, how low”.

After hearing a handful of songs, I had a persistent feeling that the singer’s voice was very reminiscent of another widely recognizable voice with a similar tone. It was only once another cover began that all of the dots began to connect. Leading into the last portion of the set, King Isis gently released an opening of “when I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever”, a line that repeats throughout Billie Eilish’s viral hit “Happier Than Ever”. Sadly, they only played a small chunk of the song, cutting it off right before the explosive final verse. Given the soul that they infused into the cover, one can only imagine how cathartic the delivery would have been for everyone in the room. Just as Eilish displays within their own discography, King Isis carries a smooth, resonant voice that can be as gentle as it is piercing, held back only by an intentional and masterful restraint.

Bringing their set to a close, King Isis introduced their final song as the first one that they ever released, “4leaf clover”. As one of the softer songs on their 2023 debut EP scales, it complemented the set’s acoustic style and allowed for them to subtly release their grip over the crowd, who had gone nearly silent at this point. King Isis smoothly wrapped up the song to a wave of applause and cheers from the crowd, many of whom I hope became converts with a recognition of the unique path that the indie-rocker is carving for themself within the industry.