Review by DCist contributor Claire Blaustein

Sound might travel fast, but it takes time for a band’s sound to develop. Kingsley Flood has been playing shows with their newer sound for many months, and finally their recordings reflect this stylistic shift, with the release of their new EP Colder Still.

Kingsley Flood’s earlier material evoked dust-moted sunlight, front porches and rolling hills. Since then, they’ve packed up their Americana roots and gone to the big city (in some ways literally — the EP was recorded in Brooklyn). There’s still a lot of the old soul in the new songs and interesting instrumentation, well-crafted songwriting, a strong personal feel to the performances. Yet, the sound has deepened, richened, and added grit. Namely, there’s more brass, more riffs, more beat. It’s music for a darkened club, for boots on hardwood.

The songs on Colder Still are an album of grainy black-and-white photographs, stark images where people look out from frozen moments of happiness, but hint at the real struggles underneath. The first track, “I Don’t Wanna Go Home,” (which is already available) watches a man go tearing off in his car, leaving security for a dream he can’t find. “Black Boots” is a militant call, where “uptown’s going to go downtown tonight,” filled with clanging beats (made from banging trash cans) and electric guitar, but broken with a slow and sweet moment in the middle. “Quiet Quiet Ground” hearkens back to earlier influences, with just a touch of cutesy in the duet with Naseem Khuri and violinist Jenée Morgan, with a nice banjo to round it out. “House on the Hill” starts with meditative guitar, then moves on the upwards climb that leaves comfort behind. The song also brings in solid brass playing — one of the many developments that is augmenting the sound of Kingsley Flood.

It’s a testament to how far they have come and how far their sound might yet travel.

Kingsley Flood’s album release party is this Saturday at Iota. $12, 9 p.m.