Louisiana-born, Portland, OR-based troubadour Kyle Craft's second album, Full Circle Nightmare, is an entertaining and tremendously freewheeling record. Despite being just 28, Craft's songwriting is noticeably self-assured and beatnik; it plays like the musical incarnation of a Jack Kerouac novel, shifting from city to city in a variety of unsavoury situations.
Whether it's being the amoral companion of a prostitute in "The Rager" or reveller on "Belmont (One Trick Pony)," Craft writes busy narratives that range from nonchalant ("Fever Dream Girl") to lovesick and vulnerable ("Slick & Delta Queen"). His poetics are heavily Dylan-inspired, and there is no better example than "Heartbreak Junky," when Craft sings "I can reconcile what I ripped into, that haphazard, half-hearted love I was making with you." Bouncy wordplay and a boisterous band keep songs like this from the mire; even when Craft ventures into sentimental territory, airiness persists.
Whereas 2016's Dolls of Highland was primarily recorded in a bedroom, Full Circle Nightmare was Craft's first experience recording in an actual studio, and the energy is palpable. Each song is theatrically arranged with Craft belting like a Broadway star and the large band supporting his every word. The ebbs and flows become slightly predictable near the end of the album, but Craft does a terrific job of performing the songs, emoting and propelling his tales with vigour. Slightly burlesque in tone, the record respects the past and never ventures into the realm of full-on caricature, a pretty impressive feat for the relative newcomer evoking an age before his own. It will be interesting to see what Craft comes up with next.
(Sub Pop)Whether it's being the amoral companion of a prostitute in "The Rager" or reveller on "Belmont (One Trick Pony)," Craft writes busy narratives that range from nonchalant ("Fever Dream Girl") to lovesick and vulnerable ("Slick & Delta Queen"). His poetics are heavily Dylan-inspired, and there is no better example than "Heartbreak Junky," when Craft sings "I can reconcile what I ripped into, that haphazard, half-hearted love I was making with you." Bouncy wordplay and a boisterous band keep songs like this from the mire; even when Craft ventures into sentimental territory, airiness persists.
Whereas 2016's Dolls of Highland was primarily recorded in a bedroom, Full Circle Nightmare was Craft's first experience recording in an actual studio, and the energy is palpable. Each song is theatrically arranged with Craft belting like a Broadway star and the large band supporting his every word. The ebbs and flows become slightly predictable near the end of the album, but Craft does a terrific job of performing the songs, emoting and propelling his tales with vigour. Slightly burlesque in tone, the record respects the past and never ventures into the realm of full-on caricature, a pretty impressive feat for the relative newcomer evoking an age before his own. It will be interesting to see what Craft comes up with next.
