The Key Studio Sessions: DRGN King

Dominic Angelella used to be the dude who who was in everybody else’s band. He’s backed up Dice Raw in Noveau Riche, played lead guitar with Key Sessions alums Hop Along, and contributed to the formidable swagger of blues-punks Elevator Fight. Somehow, Angelella has found time to work on his own music these past couple years as well. DRGN King started as his informal studio collaboration with South Philly’s Ritz Reynolds—a producer with an impressive hip-hop resume. The unlikely pairing of grizzled indie songwriting and pop polish paid off with last December’s Warriors EP, and the duo decided to run with it. They enlisted live players—Joe Baldacci on drums and Julie Slick on bass—and set to work writing and recording Paragraph Nights, the first DRGN King full length, due out later this fall. The foursome gave us a short taste of the album, playing three new songs in the Key Studio Session they recorded last night. “Holy Ghost” is one of the finest examples of Angelella’s song craft to date (the band recently released a fun video for it as well), but the garage hooks of “Lookin’ At You” and moody introspection of “Caught Down” are equally enticing. Download the tracks below, listen to an interview with the band tomorrow on XPN2 during The Key Studio Sessions Hour, and hear the entire album performed live on Fri. Sept. 16 when DRGN King plays a record preview show at Kung Fu Necktie.