King of Prussia has returned to debut its single “Perfect Daze” after a near-decade hiatus from releasing music. Described as “a reflection on healing from family dysfunction and tragedy to create a family of our own—one built in love, gratitude and patience,” the original lineup recorded the song in Myrtle Beach, SC and mixed it with Patrick Doherty at Racquet Recording in Athens.
The themes and timing of this new song came about organically from its place of conception. Guitarist and lead vocalist Brandon Taj Hanick explains that the members of King of Prussia are spread out across the U.S. and beyond, but they make an effort to regularly meet up in Myrtle Beach—a home in some way to each of them—to celebrate the memory of their good friend Trevor.
“In the summer of 2007, before we released our first album on Kindercore, we all went on tour together—King of Prussia and Trevor’s band Bottom of the Hudson. We played our last show of that tour in Myrtle; said our goodbyes. We started driving back to Athens, while Trevor and the Hudson Boys headed back to Philly. We were almost home when Taylor got the call: Our friends’ van had a blowout on the highway and flipped. Our friend Trevor was gone. Losing Trevor changed us all forever, and definitely changed the way we saw touring,” says Taj Hanick.
“This summer, before we all came to Myrtle to celebrate Trevor, we decided we should record while we’d all be together. Nathan [Troutman] took some cajoling, cause it’s tough to get that dude on a plane, but he eventually caved and rolled into town at like 2 a.m. in a comically small Smart Car that he’d rented on Turo from a guy out at the old Air Force Base. Despite 11 years having passed between albums, everything just immediately clicked into place with all of us. It was magical. When you’ve played music with people long enough, everyone seems to instinctively know where to take a song. The instrumentation and arrangement just came without anyone having to think too hard about it.”
Taj Hanick continues, “It just so happens that ‘Perfect Daze’ is partly about losing my brother Cody… and then months later, learning that my wife and I were going to become parents to our first child. And how important it is to me to have the perfect person to go through life with for these amazingly beautiful and impossibly dark times. In my case, it’s my wife Shelly. Life is too short to not make and release music. And when it feels right, it feels right.”
Rather than a re-introduction of King of Prussia, “Perfect Daze” is an amalgamation of its sounds from the band’s early chamber pop/power-pop sound to its later twanginess, along with the influence of Taj Hanick’s band Future Lives’ ’90s indie pop. However, the songwriting is reflective of the maturity that comes from living another 10 years of life and how those experiences shape you.
“Back in the day, I mostly wrote love songs with a lot of wordplay that often concealed an underlying message or narrative on society or our economic or political systems. But in the last 10 years, I’ve become a husband, a father of two brilliant kids and also lost my brother, my mom, my dad, my stepdad and too many close friends. A string of intense life changes—good and bad—can either cause you to dissociate or prompt you to look further within yourself and deeper into the universe for ‘the meaning of it all’ versus examining worldly or societal concerns,” says Taj Hanick. “So nowadays, my love songs are different. They’re definitely less political. Not because I don’t care or because it isn’t important, but because my life revolves around the people I love and take care of. Having worked in political communications for 10 years, I’m acutely aware that our society and systems are badly damaged—some parts are completely broken. But my focus these days is on nurturing a happy, healthy life with our family and friends within these damaged, broken systems.”
After coming together to first play music together in 2003, then officially forming King of Prussia in 2006, the bandmembers still have more to give and plan on recording and releasing more music moving forward. Taj Hanick describes the band as more of a collective and group of lifelong friends who have managed to create transcontinental albums before, so with even more improved technology to record remotely, there’s nothing in their way.
“I haven’t told everyone yet, but it would also be awesome to bring in King of Prussia’s European contingent—my good friends in Dublin, Porto and Barcelona, where I lived for five years, and the rest of the American Prussians. I’ll probably propose the idea by sending everyone this Flagpole article,” jokes Taj Hanick.
Tonight in Athens at Normal Bar, Taj Hanick is performing a stripped-down set of his songs from King of Prussia, Future Lives and SLATERQUAIDQUETZALCOTAL. Also on the bill are former Athenian Annie Merkley and local band Burly Ivy. It all starts at 8 p.m. and costs $10 at the door.
To keep up with King of Prussia, or go back and do a deep dive, check out linktr.ee/KingOfPrussia.
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