Brooklyn-London indie duo The King Canutes present 'Cars and Girls', the second taste of their debut album 'Eastern Seaboard, Perfect Summer', forthcoming via the Montclair, New Jersey-based Magic Door Record Label. Prefab Sprout aficionados will surely appreciate the cover homage to the band’s Steve McQueen masterpiece.

The King Canutes is Keir Woods (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), who brings a sonorous true folk voice of Northern England, while Richard Alwyn Fisher (vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars) is the scrappy Replacements-style Midwesterner. The pair met in Brooklyn in the early 2000s in NYC’s cosmopolitan pop / indie rock scene and released their debut EP 'Last Callers and Losers' in 2008.

The duo used to perform this song for ‘The Love Hangover’ [an annual post-Valentine’s Day show]. This version blossoms into a smooth swaggering rock ride out. Woods' vocals evoke the wistfulness of the original version while Fisher's sinewy guitar lines break down the layers, then build back as a drum machine transitions to live drums by Kevin March of Guided by Voices.

The King Canutes

Cars and Girls

'Eastern Seaboard, Perfect Summer' album out Nov. 21 via Magic Door Record Label

21 October 2025

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Brooklyn-London duo The King Canutes pay tribute to Prefab Sprout on 'Cars and Girls'

FOR FANS OF: Belle & Sebastian, Lloyd Cole, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, The Chills, Orange Juice, The New Pornographers, American Music Club
INFLUENCES: Lloyd Cole, Richard Thompson, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen
FOCUS TRACKS: Seymour Stein, Mixture as Before, Cars and Girls, Man From Hawaii, Perfect Summer, Red Hook Sunset
FCC clean (no profanity)

FOR SHARING
'Cars and Girls' single https://distrokid.com/ hyperfollow/thekingcanutes/ cars-and-girls
Bandcamp https://thekingcanutes.bandcamp.com/track/cars-and-girls
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lex8QRtmMDs9njOCwTdMd
'Seymour Stein (for Earle Holmes)' https://youtu.be/y9tz2SAFKFg
Get the single https://distrokid.com/ hyperfollow/thekingcanutes/ seymour-stein-for-earle-holmes
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/3g8lOj27RRigNafFfZw2aT
Bandcamp https://thekingcanutes.bandcamp.com/track/seymour-stein-for-earle-holmes
Album pre-order https://thekingcanutes.bandcamp.com/album/eastern-seaboard-perfect-summer
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-king-canutes/295362605

FOR REVIEW & AIRPLAY
Album preview https://on.soundcloud.com/ bxHMO7lIMeNQyU0iLn
Online press kit https://haulix.promo/94zj
Download via Google Drive https://tinyurl.com/TheKingCanutes-PressKit

Brooklyn-London indie duo The King Canutes present 'Cars and Girls', the second taste of their debut album 'Eastern Seaboard, Perfect Summer', forthcoming via the Montclair, New Jersey-based Magic Door Record Label. Prefab Sprout aficionados will surely appreciate the cover homage to the band’s Steve McQueen masterpiece.

The King Canutes is Keir Woods (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), who brings a sonorous true folk voice of Northern England, while Richard Alwyn Fisher (vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars) is the scrappy Replacements-style Midwesterner. The pair met in Brooklyn in the early 2000s in NYC’s cosmopolitan pop / indie rock scene and released their debut EP 'Last Callers and Losers' in 2008.

The duo used to perform this song for ‘The Love Hangover’ [an annual post-Valentine’s Day show]. This version blossoms into a smooth swaggering rock ride out. Woods' vocals evoke the wistfulness of the original version while Fisher's sinewy guitar lines break down the layers, then build back as a drum machine transitions to live drums by Kevin March of Guided by Voices.

“When we first began playing “Cars and Girls” live it was stripped back to the bare essence, in contrast to the Prefab Sprout very eighties classic. But over the years, and with the gifts of the studio, our version has become as layered and baroque as the original!,” says Keir Woods.

Richard Alwyn Fisher adds, “Prefab Sprout offered such a unique voice, and it was fun and satisfying to create a version that was both an homage and also a new and personal take on the song.”

The King Canutes make intelligent, skewed pop with echoes of early 80s-90s Australian and Scottish pop, British folk and Midwestern indie rock, all melted in the current cosmopolitan cauldrons of New York and London. Combining the dynamic tension of dual singer-songwriters, their music sites somewhere between The Go-Betweens and the long-distance, long-haul commitment of The Postal Service,

The duo recently released 'Seymour Stein (for Earle Holmes)', named for Earle Holmes, the club owner and friend who gave Keir his Paris bookings after moving from NYC. This song captures the elation of freedom and the frustration of starting the artistic journey again. This song is elevated by stellar horns by Mac Gollehon (David Bowie, Al Jarreau, Duran Duran, Mick Jagger), bassist Dave Derby (Dambuilders, Gramercy Arms, Lloyd Cole), and Jessie Kilguss on backing vocals.

Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by renowned producer Ray Ketchem (Guided by Voices, Luna, Elk City, Gramercy Arms) at Magic Door Recording Studio, this ambitious album involves world-class artists such as Kendall Meade (Sparklehorse, Mascott), Mike Dillon (Rickie Lee Jones), John Leon (Roky Erickson), David Nagler (Nova Social, Joan Baez, Aaron Neville), Doug McEachern (Suran Song in Stag), Renée LoBue (Elk City) and Verena Wiesendanger (Semi Gloss).

As of October 21, 'Cars and Girls' is out everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The 'Eastern Seaboard, Perfect Summer' album, out on November 21st, is now available for pre-order.

ALBUM CREDITS
Written by Keir Woods and Richard Alwyn Fisher, except
'Cars and Girls' written by Paddy McAloon
Produced, recorded, mixed & mastered by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door in Montclair, NJ
Keir Woods / vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
Richard Alwyn Fisher / vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
Dave Derby / bass, backing vocals

Kevin March / drums
Ray Ketchem / percussion, keyboard

Mac Gollehon / horns

Jessie Kilguss / backing vocals
Single artwork by Peregrine Honig
Album artwork by Ray Ketchem
Released by Magic Door Record Label
Artist photos by Lisa Whiteman
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR