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
https://theorangekyte.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theorangekyte https://twitter.com/theorangekyte
Pete RingMaster 14/01/2020
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
What’s Done Is Done is next up; sharing the dark throated riffs and bass tone of its predecessor as essences of psychedelia and late sixties/early seventies melodic rock merge and the great blend of harmonies across Urquhart, Reeve, and Collman embrace. It oozes a seductive touch with every exotic sigh, warm surges and electric impulses uniting in a gentle but dynamic rousing of ears and spirit. The excellent proposition is followed and matched in temptation by 1000 Yard Stare where the vocal mix again grabs attention as they immediately cradle ears while psych and folk pop streams of enterprise kiss the imagination. Crescendos of lo fi intensity contrast and work perfectly with this golden glow of voice and melody, the compelling encounter almost tempestuous at times in its Wicker Man like climate and emotion.
The following Oh Katy is a gentler caress of energy though no less infectious with its evocative grooving and glowing harmonies. The psych pop resonance of the song sizzles on the ears, its spatial tempting grounded by the just as riveting and effective melancholic bass lures amidst thick swipes upon drums. Whereas the first song has a tenacious and broad sense of life and energy, its successor offers a more intimately emotional and personal presence with a just as transfixing and intoxicating tapestry of sound. It also has a slight whisper of Arctic Monkeys to it, though again the main scent of the track is soaked in psychedelic rock from across the decades.
creative maze with Television Personalities and The Goons, now you get the idea. Released in Wales at the tail of 2013 and in the UK this coming January 27th, it is impossible to cover the whole of the five hours offered so we will pick some of the best tracks on the release, or rather our definite favourites. From the brief vocally cast opening title track of Vol. 1, the CD offering a parade of songs looking at the male psyche in the pursuit of love, second song The Language of the Body featuring Little Arrow strums out its temptation with acoustic caresses aligned to a melodica seduction. The united array of vocals is excellent, raising a smile with their mischief whilst the lead vocal has a riveting tone like an inebriated Bryan Ferry. The song coaxes the imagination and emotions perfectly and is not equalled again, despite some thoroughly enjoyable engagements, until the almost baroque tones of Love Is a Two Racquet Sport croons contagiously in the ear. Both I’m Sorry I Removed Your Eyes featuring John Mouse and Annabelle spark the passions to greater hunger, the first an energetic dance of jazzy invention and the second a swoon of clumsy romance within a smouldering acoustic enticement. As with all the best songs on the album you cannot help joining in with the chorus, cries, or silliness vocally and emotionally. The quirkily anthemic It Wasn’t Me, It Was The Moon, the hypnotically persuasive The Game featuring Hail! The Planes, and So It Went Like This…. all contest best track honours not only on the first volume but whole album, the last of the trio especially incendiary to feet and an emerging devilish appetite.