With two rather well-received albums under their belts, Irish-Canadian psych-garage rockers The Orange Kyte have already revealed an individual sound as rich in its variety as it is fascinating in its character. Even so with loose ends connected and its web of adventure extended it is an evolving exploration of enterprise which has now come to a head in new album Carousel.
The Vancouver outfit’s fusion of garage and psych rock with shoegaze and indie inclinations again breeds the tracks making up Carousel but each stands as an individual enticement as much a pop protagonist as a rock incitement with many more flavours embraced in their fairgrounds of curiosity and adventure. From start to finish, the album dances with the body whilst taking flight with the imagination, its touch dirty and voice haunting but at its core a body of rock ‘n’ roll revelry.
Founded in 2016, originally as a solo project by Dublin hailing singer /songwriter/guitarist Stephen White (Magic Shoppe, ex- Strange Things and Ireland’s House of Dolls), The Orange Kyte inspirations include the broad likes of The Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett, Graham Coxon, The Byrds, Primal Scream, The Who, Death in Vegas, CAN, White Fence, Spiritualized and Super Furry Animals as well as psychedelia and krautrock in general. Many are essences which immediately flavour the heart and endeavour of Carousel as revealed by opener Masquerade!
The instant jangle of Mat Durie and White’s guitars immediately enticed keen attention as rhythms pounced, the psych flames of Matty Reed’s sax only intensifying the tempting. From its first breath quickly after, the song’s stroll is an eager bounce, the animated beats of drummer Dave Mulvaney as encouraging as the dark swing of Pierce Kingan’s bass, it all wrapped in the just as infectious hug of Durie’s keys. Together the ingredients made for a virulent and addictive enticement, one as rousing, bordering on the rowdy, as it was dark and invasively provocative.
The Modern Day Saints follows with a slightly more tempered gait but one again as contagious as the melodic warmth and enterprise making up its infection. As in all songs, Whites tones are a dream coated lure of temptation and lyrical observation within a web of tenacious sound while every element of the track hit the spot with Chris van der Laan swinging the sticks this time, the sax again especially potent before Distractions springs its melodic gossamer upon drum machine beats to beguile and haunt the senses. There is a House Of Love breath to the track at times which only adds to its psychedelic thought and irresistible seduction.
A rapacious appetite comes with the creative promotion of C.O.P., the controlled but boisterous persistence of the song again utter contagion even as vocals and melodic invention continually evolves and accentuates its ear gripping body while the following pair of Little Death Balloon and Demonstration Garden with their respective groove bound captivation and drone scented serenade similarly seized keen ears, the former a glorious slice of the band’s sound and imagination bound in one of the album’s major highlights with its successor, as all tracks, no lightweight in thick enterprise and temptation.
The R/B spun garage rock canter of Infinity Rope equally had attention in the palms of its transfixing surf coated hands to emulate the success of the tenacious garage pop antics shared by Sea Of Love / Ocean Of Hate before it , a constantly growing track again fusing psychedelic and pop exploits in a moment of creative manipulation.
The Chris van der Laan produced Carousel closes with the stripped down offering of Downfall, a sinking into sonic smog as inviting and evocative as it is disturbing and disorientating, and finally the sixties pop lined garage pop of Captain Ron. Both songs echo the diversity of the release, the band’s sound, and the inescapable lure of the creative fertility behind it all.
Carousel is a real joy, a ride of enterprise which effortlessly got under the skin whilst announcing The Orange Kyte one of the leading lights in the next decade of garage/psych adventure.
Carousel is out now on 12″ pink vinyl from Little CLoud Records (US/Canada) and Cardinal Fuzz (UK/EU) and digitally @ https://theorangekyte.bandcamp.com/album/carousel
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Pete RingMaster 14/01/2020
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
Things only grow more compelling and contagious as 2Fives and Twos sets its creative trap, it too another song which needs mere seconds to grip ears and appetite as Cordery winds addictive melodic wires around both. Punk and rockabilly soon converge on the rock ‘n’ roll instincts of the song, its tenacious gait and contagiousness a quick infestation of body with the Pauline Murray-esque tint to Sonic’s voice icing on the delicious cake.
The sing-a-long canter of Ma Claque just commands participation next up while Je Suis Le Boss owns ears with its sepia shaded sixties shuffle blessed with the intoxicating jangle of keys and the harmonic flaming of Monbel; another great pair which is still outshone by another as Drogue ‘N’ Roll swaggers in with unapologetically flirtatious grooves leading devilish power pop tainted moves and garage pop sprung temptation.
Celestial heights are ventured once more through Please Kill Me, its prowling flight a sizzling wind of psych fuzz and sinister rock ‘n’ roll. At times it merges gothic psychobilly reminding of The Orson Family and the scorched punk of The Scaners to its compelling body, all the while niggling away at the imagination before Earworm uncages its own feral swing. Echoing the grungy wildness of Escobar in its breath, the track is a cyclone of salacious garage rock as punked up as it is melodically caustic and more than living up to its moniker.
Across the classic hard rock tinted antics of Down On My Knees and the corrupted boogie woogie nurtured devilment of The Ripper new flavours and rascality sweeps across Down In The Basement, The Dahmers already revealing their most diverse web of sound which Hit ‘N’ Run exploits for its contagion loaded adrenaline fuelled punk ‘n’ roll romp. All three tracks infested body and spirit with ease, the latter mercilessly before Howling merged the rock ‘n’ roll decades with its nefarious holler for a matching success.
The band’s new single, Who We Are, does both with relish and tenacity straight away. The devilishly earthy stroll of the bass instantly had imagination and appetite hooked, its inescapable lure aligned to the perpetually lively dynamics of Mason’s rhythms. Both continue to arouse and manipulate as guitars and vocals join the song’s incendiary holler; a union brewing a delicious slab of punk ‘n’ roll as virulently catchy as it is rapaciously invasive.