Interview: Bri Ng Schwartz
Photos: Arianna Renee Sanchez
Alternative Salt Lake sweethearts Kroooked Kings round out their run of East Coast tour dates this week after a month-long run on the road. Consisting of Oli Martin (lead vocals/guitar), Paul Colgan (guitar), David Macey (keys), Matt Monosson (bass), and Quinn Casper (drums), the five-piece band is basking in their new sonic era. Their latest record, In Another Life, marks a reinvention for the group. In an Instagram post from the group in September of 2025, the group noted the new chapter that their next era would encapsulate: one that didn’t center on trend chasing, but centered in love for their sound and community.
“Rancher’s Daughter”, the first single off of In Another Life, presented a stripped down, acoustic forward ballad that would accompany the larger project. The album in its entirety explores themes around addiction to social media and doom scrolling, drinking and drug use, and self reflection in relationships. Their smooth beats and alternative influences are akin to bands like The Maine and The Cab that present an emotional, self reflective approach to songwriting and easy listening experience, a counter to many pop-punk peers.
We had the chance to meet the band a week before hitting the road, and were front and center for their show at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall. Ahead of the tour, we discussed what fans could expect, the new album, collaborations, and the thriving alternative community in Salt Lake and Utah at large.
Your latest album, In Another Life, is out now! How did this album come to be?
Oli: We had a few writing sessions around Los Angeles and we ended up writing with someone named Yves Rothman. When we wrote with him, we connected super well on a personal and sonic basis. We went to Sunset Sound where he was recording at the time. Every great record has been recorded at Sunset Sound, so we were already kind of giddy going just to be in that same room. From that moment on we all had a big crush on him as a producer and as a writer. That’s the origin of the album.
What do you all look for in collaborators outside of the five of you?
Quinn: What really resonated for us with Yves was that was a cheerleader. If you watch these documentaries with the Beatles and Radiohead, their producers are kind of the sixth number just hyping them up and cheering them on.
Dave: It helps us to just have a strong opinion in the room, to have a strong voice that we can kind of turn to. When there’s five of us, we’re not always going to agree. So it’s nice to have someone that can kind of weigh in and they know what they like. It’s an anchor for us.
What do you all value most in your collaboration with one another?
Matt: As a band, we really look to each other to direct us in our parts. We have this little bit of imposter syndrome when we write stuff and where it’s like, “Is this cool? I don’t know if it’s cool.” And we have our bandmates reassure us and be like, “No, that’s super cool.” Or help you out and be like, “That’s cool, but what if you maybe did this or add that on?” We’re democratic as a friend group. We were friends before, so I think we already knew how to communicate. That doesn’t mean the conversation’s always happy, but I think we’re always happy with the product at the end.
Quinn: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I think that’s the beautiful thing about being in a band. We’re all just best friends. Even if we do disagree on something at the end of the day, we’re just having beers about it and we’re stoked about the end product.
What about your current tour are you most excited about? Do you have any favorite cities when you’re on the road?
Oli: I’m excited just to be in the van with the guys and just hitting the road. I think it’s such a unique experience getting to tour and see all these fun cities, places you’ve never been.
Matt: I’m really excited to get out all the way back to the East Coast. There’s a lot more character to the cities. You’ll find these small little towns with little cafes. The last time we were on the East Coast was 2023, so it feels like forever ago. We played Montreal and last time we were there, it was awesome. Canadians love us. We love Canada. It’s because they’re too nice. They’re too polite to tell us that we suck.
I’m learning more about the Utah music scene. Between you all, and The Aces, who I met last year. They’re from Provo and shared that they weren’t necessarily hometown darlings, but their shows created a needed community in Utah. How would you say your hometown shows feel when you’re on tour?
Dave I wouldn’t necessarily call us the hometown darlings, but I do think we are well received here. If you were to maybe ask someone in the local scene, we might not be the first band that pops into their head, but nice to feel like you have a home base and feel like you belong there and have people show up and give you that support and love.
Ollie: It’s kind of funny, but yesterday my coworker said that he was working at the bar and he overheard a conversation of people talking about their favorite local bands. I didn’t tell you guys this. Krooked Kings was in this conversation, a bunch of people all agreed. They said we’re the coolest Utah band.
Dave: We’re in dire need of words of affirmation. A theme running through this interview.
We all need words of affirmation, especially as creatives!
Matt: With every hometown show, you get to see friends and family. You get on tour and you meet a bunch of really cool people, but it’s always just the band you’re traveling with. So it’s always nice if we drive through Salt Lake, We get to see our girlfriends and parents.
As a rock band from Salt Lake, are you guys fans of the movie SLC Punk?
Dave: Actually, we need to watch that on tour. We’ve always talked about watching it.
Oli: I haven’t seen it in a long time!
Do you think it paints an accurate picture of the scene these days?
Oli: In the spirit of it, there’s a really cool DIY scene here. There’s a lot of artists here, whether they’re playing Kilby Court, The State Room and all these proper venues or not, there’s a really cool underground culture and just musical existence.
Dave: The sense of community in Salt Lake’s really fun. The last time we played in Salt Lake, we actually opened for The Happy Fits. These kids came up to us after and they were local high school students. They were just kind of giddy and super excited to talk to us. I work at a coffee shop, a drive-through, and they’ve come through a couple times and will be playing with Krooked Kings when they pull up.
Are there any songs in particular from In Another Life that you’re excited to play live?
Matt: The last single we released was “Damage Control.” That one has a super fun chorus, so I’m excited to see how that one really goes live. We’ve never played it before, but even when we were writing it, we were imagining playing it live. We could see the crowd. We can feel the energy.
What else can fans expect from the live show?
Dave: All the hits. We’re amped. We’re well rested. We’ve been in Salt Lake now for consistently, basically six or seven months. You can expect all of us to be 10 out of 10 on the energy scale.
Quinn: Like I said, we haven’t headlined for a while too, but we’ve played a lot of shows the last year and a half or so and are really excited to just be playing for our fans and give it our all.
Matt: We’re also really excited to play this new album. We kind of wrote these songs while playing them live, so we’re excited to really have that energy translate in the venue.
Krooked Kings have brought the Utah sunshine from Montreal to South Carolina this Spring, and are sure to keep bringing the heat with all they have in store this year. We can’t wait to see this group of friends continue to bring their easy going energy and moving melodies to the current alternative scene. Be sure to catch them on the remaining dates of their In Another Life Tour.
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