Artist Romantica
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Romantica
Belfast transplant Ben Kyle absorbed American country and folk-rockers like Gram Parsons into the very marrow of his bones, judging by the stellar songwriting on Romantica’s most recent disc, 2007's America. Kyle has a gift for wistful roots-rock, and shows a pleasing range from the breezy “Queen Of Hearts,” inspired by the late Jeff Buckley, to “Ixcatan,” a haunting rumination on violence, crime, love, death, and bullfighting. A lot of America deals with the Kyle family’s emigration—on “The National Side,” which features some splendid Calexico-esque Spanish horns, Kyle notes that his mother used to play hockey for Ireland’s national team, and he ruminates on a Belfast bombing in “Fiona.” America’s lush sound belies its lo-fi origins: It was recorded in a home-built studio largely though a single mic.
Updated 11/10/2009
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Twin Cities:
CC Club
December 7, 2008
