Despite currency problems, Louis XIV creates valid EP

Apparently Louis XIV slept with most of the women in his court, producing multiple illegitimate children. How appropriate then that a band that sings almost entirely about sex have named themselves after the French monarch.

Even though the group calls San Diego home, its sound is a direct throwback to many of the British bands of the ‘70s. And Rolling Stones and Beatles fans will enjoy Louis XIV’s catchy hooks and foot-tapping beats.

With their first major-label release Illegal Tender, Louis XIV has created an EP consisting of five songs from completely different genres. One of the tracks is a slower ballad, the next is a country-like instrumental featuring a fiddle, a horn and handclaps. This range of sounds makes it impossible to place the band in a specific genre.

Although the band’s previous, eponymously titled release was a concept album about sex, this EP continues to explore a sexual theme. The lyrics are steamy enough to make a 14 year old boy nervous.

“Wind you up and make you crawl to me / Tie you up until you call to me,” the sexy guest vocals of Lindsey Troy call out to the listener on “Finding Out True Love is Blind.” Although Louis XIV’s lyrics often sound silly and absurd, the EP’s message is important: love is blind to race and insecurities.