The EP opens with 'Eyes Lose Their Fire', which begins with a buzzing, humming, slightly throbbing drone, with shoegaze guitars awash with feedback. This occupies the first thirty seconds, thirty preparatory seconds, like a painter who primes the canvas with a watercolour background wash, ready for the detail. A faint, distant drum beat kicks up and crescendos as the twinkling glockenspiel detail cuts through the the swirling haze of sound. Synth keys add to the swirling tapestry and the melody overwhelms the song. Kyte's brand of ethereal, modulated vocals sound joyous. And then the background is stripped back and the vocals are supported by nothing more than a ringing echo of the wash, with the details holding their own. The drum beat reignites and the piano keys build a climax, climbing back towards the melody.
'Bridges In The Sky' kicks off with techno, Krautrock-esque humming beats, far more overtly electronic than the usual Kyte sound. This added to the driving, dynamic drums makes this track a slight anomaly in Kyte's repertoire. It's a interesting and brilliantly realised change of tempo that still sits squarely in the Kyte musical landscape. The vocals and drum beat are joined by airy, hypnotic synth waves; the whole track holds onto the relaxing, ambient feel whilst at the same time developing a more aggressive, rhythmic edge.
The third quarter of the EP throws up something different, something intriguing, and certainly unexpected: Kyte's cover of Peter Gabriel's 'Solsbury Hill'. However, gone are the acoustic guitars and the jittery, shuffling tempo, stripped away to be replaced by whirring synths, tinkling glockenspiels and breathy, reverent vocals. The song is another gentle builder. A ticking and twitchy beat emerging before those hushed voices slide in. The harsh, cynical edge to Gabriel's vocals become almost mournful, somehow regretful, once fed through Kyte's reinterpretation. The song dies away, and the listener is once again left with nothing but the echo and the twinkling keys for company. It is at these moments that I feel most moved to mention Sigur Rós, a band that many have cited in comparison to Kyte. And into the final song of the EP: 'Lights Outside Here'. At over ten minutes, it is the closest on the EP to Sigur Rós, at least in terms of length. Other boxes are checked too: slow-burning build-up, sparkling keys, brooding ripples of background sound... Faint synth chords surge through the collage before dropping away again and a distorted, crackling guitar bursts out, straining against the pristine, drifting vocals. Then suddenly, at about the 5.30 mark, nothing but the glockenspiel notes sing out, as if the plug has been pulled on everything else. Slight snatches of the guitar melody creep back in, faint memories of what has just passed. Digital blips and pops start to form, like electronic rain drops, smattering against the window. The spitting becomes more frequent, turning into a shower, threatening to become torrential. But it never does. Instead, much like the sort of persistent, light rain that leaves you drenched, the electronic blips soak through the song. The drum beat returns and, having returned, transforms into a pots and pans shuffle. Rings, dings and glitches are everywhere. Synth strings plead for attention against this cornucopia of electronic blips. And then the final twinkling chord rings out and the EP finishes. It is a masterful and magisterial finish to a quite frankly beautiful EP.
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Anthemic, ethereal, majestic... all these have been used to describe Kyte's stunning brand of ambient post-rock shoegaze. A reviewer's words simply do not do justice to their music. On paper, the music in written form appears formulaic, pulled-apart, too analysed. Kyte are one of the few groups making music at the moment where it is rather difficult to describe exactly what they're doing. But whatever it is, it's quite fantastic. It was never going to be easy, following their début self-titled EP. Tracks like 'Planet' and 'Boundaries', glorious in their construction, and successful live tours and support slots have singled Kyte out as one of the bands to keep an eye on. Based on this EP, the expectation for the much-awaited début album is going to be stratospheric. I, for one, cannot wait.
http://www.myspace.com/kyteband
http://www.kytetheband.blogspot.com/
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