Artist Close- Up/ Album Review: Kyle Britton Is A Millennial “Folkster” (Includes Album Stream)
My viewers know I like to invent words and fads, which leads me to: Kyle Britton is a Millennial “Folkster”. We all know hipsters as counter-culture mavens that promote alternative, mindful lifestyles like, organic foods and fair-trade beanies. Yet, being a folkster is different. Folksters are not about going against the mainstream because he or she does not care nor let culture dominate perception. A folkster is about tapping into the unanimous trials that every person must undergo in this world: whether it be the commonality of heartbreak or heartfelt. If hipsters are about awareness and consciousness, folksters are about spirituality and emotiveness. Hence, again, Kyle Britton is a Millennial folkster.
From the minute you hear his voice, Kyle Britton will remind you of Jeff Buckley and his capacity to make emotion drip off of every word like, water. It literally feels like his lyrics are woven by sentiment or are cascading from the spiritual turmoil of a traveling soul. Whether it be sadness or resilience, Britton’s music aims straight for the heart of a spirit going through the rough currents of life. In this goal and in voice, Britton is Buckley’s musical mirror. He has that 90’s combination of blues and grunge, which exemplified the loneliness and self-deprecation that most people undergo. Both genres, at their core and that era, were ingrained with the spirit of an outcast, and the inherent need of a human soul to express their alienation. Hence, Britton’s EP Riddle feels like a a recorded confessional of a young, Millennial man recollecting the most beautiful, painful, and confusing chapters of his life.
I love when artists’ go for the nuances of an emotion. It is not an easy task, but, when done, it makes for a better song. As a lyricist, Kyle Britton writes in the grey matter of feelings. It is not about writing words of love, but describing in intricate, surprising, and wise details of love’s struggle to be purely euphoric amidst rising paranoia. For example, in Sleepover, he emotively sings the overwhelming desire to be naughty. Yet, it is not in a tone of objectification or sexual deviance. It is in the blatant, passionate desire to be physically opened by someone you cannot tell if you love or lust. The song blasts into the tension and surge of inspired thoughts that one single emotion, love, can give, Add on that indie-rock 90’s rhythms blast throughout the EP, and you admire Riddle’s ability to be spiritually analytical, while sonically enrapturing. It was actually Britton’s military dad that taught him “if music is not evoking an emotional response it’s not doing its job”. His lesson has clearly defined his son’s talents and soul, which can be seen in his EP Riddle.
Britton’s music is best played for those that want to enter a pensive trance. His raw melodies and acoustic refrains build too real an atmosphere of human experience. Each track will make you feel either the pain and somberness or curiosity and bliss of his musical odyssey. Yet, that is what makes this debut EP so strong and wonderful: even the numbest person will feel again after hearing Kyle Britton.
Track By Track:
Sleepover: this is an excellent first track for Britton’s EP. It will make you fall in love with the resplendence and cutting nature of Britton’s voice. His vocals have an innate charisma that will make you feel as emotionally naked as the young woman in his song. Hence, you are mystified by how stunning the song can be in composition, and its ability to make you feel like you are someone else’s woe. Moreover, it is Kyle’s funnest,”poppy” track.
Riddle: The smooth seductive nature of this song’s rhythms are the perfect cover for its sad and very real evoking of love’s confusion. Relationships, and how you approach them, can mess with a person’s mind like a riddle, and Britton’s vocal crudeness/clarity will make everyone feel the puzzling nature of love.
Villain: this track will definitely be the favored of the Riddle EP. It is classic indie- rock with stellar guitar arrangements, and lyrics that embody the self-loathing and resignation of a person trying to be good. Everyone can relate to, at least, one instant where they felt like a “villain” to someone, and wondered if it would be easier to accept that role rather than fight or change it. This song lyrically peels at the layers of self-hate like an onion.
Shade Of Grey: has beautiful, stringed instrumentals, and allows Britton to show how soft and tender his voice can be. He vocally graces the track like a child holding out its hand to be held. To put it simply: it is a pretty song.
For More Information on Kyle Britton Or To Buy Riddle EP Click HERE
