Kyle Andrews- Real Blasty

You may have not heard of Kyle Andrews yet, but you are sure to hear more and more from him in the future, and many of us are being first introduced to him with his newest release Real Blasty. The record is light and fun, drizzled with electronic piano, dizzy synths, and a thick precise beat. It is a pleasurable listen, but Kyle manages to lose himself on several occasions. The record opens with the superb “Sushi,” an ode to hipsters, with a glowing rhythm and irresistible melody as well. The song hooks on to you and won’t let go. Up next is the almost equally stellar “Naked in New York,” adding acoustic guitar to the electronic backdrop, slow building before imploding into the loud, blistering chorus. We find Kyle at his most introspective and delicate with “Polar Bear,” as radiant as snow and just as gorgeous. The tracks following the first three tend to hit and miss. With “Tennessee Torture Dream,” Kyle sounds like a dance rock Conor Oberst, and getting a little gritty with “Wavering Between the Real and the Abstract.” However, in between we see Kyle getting a little formulaic (“Put Your Hands Up”), too noisy (“Blow It Out”), and even a little boring (“Take It to Heart”). The last highlight of the album comes with “Cut and Paste,” a well-crafted pop song with just enough sparkle. We can see that Kyle has some talent, but he will definitely need to polish his skills a little bit before making that next step towards fame. Sometimes Real Blasty comes off real boring, but he shows that he can definitely blast off with songs like “Sushi.” He might have me hooked, but he still needs to reel me in.

Key Tracks: “Sushi” “Naked In New York” “Polar Bear”

7.4/10