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Girl Named Kyle

Let's Build
(Invicta Records)

By Michael Roberts

Published on June 19, 2008

No, the world hasn't been waiting for another folkish band fronted by a precocious, big-voiced singer, and the familiar nature of the strummier material on Let's Build doesn't help separate Girl Named Kyle from the pack. Take the concluding "Epar," which contains the confession "I feel like I've been here before" — a sentiment with which many listeners will be able to identify. But the album's more introspective tracks, including "Elephants & Emperors," "Concrete Leaves," and "Toxins," make a stronger showing, allowing Kyle Simmons to deliver warm, round tones over backdrops underpinned by Pete Schmidt's resonant keyboarding and Tracy LaGuardia's atmospheric violin. The best tunes here give Kyle something to Build on.



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