King Khan & The Shrines

From sticking his butt in Lindsay Lohan's face to playing a 50 Cent after party in Norway, King Khan has pulled off some impressive stunts in his time. The flamboyant psych-rocker has earned an iconic reputation for his outlandish antics and flashy (often minimal) on-stage attire. However, the excesses that come with years of touring eventually caught up with Khan, who in 2010 suffered a meltdown in Korea that saw the momentary collapse of his relationship with Mark Sultan (aka BBQ). Rather than spiralling out of control, a two-year period of psychiatric treatment helped turn things around. Resultantly, Khan joyfully returns to music in 2013, backed by his Sensational Shrines on Idle No More. The new album finds Khan and the Shrines revisiting their familiar formula of gospel-influenced psychedelia, complete with an explosive brass section. Khan is an older man now, a father, and fittingly sounds only slightly more subdued on Idle than in the past. He has undoubtedly matured significantly since battling his inner demons, a struggle he references on album highlight "Darkness." Still, Idle features the raucous numbers that have come to be expected from the Shrines, including opener "Born To Die" and "Bite My Tongue." Though Khan has grown with the responsibilities of adulthood, he has obviously retained the ability to produce fun, high energy tunes with ease.