Music
Press
"It doesn't deserve comparisons to the Postal Service as much as you'd think-more like Elliott Smith experimenting with an unshaken Bright Eyes and a new sampler. But all that attention that the Postal Service got? Andrews more than deserves that." - Nicole Keiper - The Tennessean
“Not simply a singer-songwriter, Kyle Andrews is more a bedroom-rock Brian Wilson, constructing simple but instantly engaging pop with nothing more than a guitar, a Casio keyboard and some drum loops. Yet somehow this record never feels precious or pretentious, and only reveals its lo-fi roots when you really put it under the microscope.” - Jason Moon Wilkins - All The Rage
Discography
Various Stages of Nudity/Radio Symphony (Double EP) 2003
Amos In Ohio (Fictitious Records version) 2005
Amos In Ohio (Badman Recording Co. version) 2006
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Bio
In order to get a true glimpse into the musical mind of Kyle Andrews, one need only look at where he began his craft.
Growing up in Chicago, recording became an important element of communication to Kyle at an early age. As he tells us, When I was 6 years old, my mother had to spend a week in the hospital. To comfort us while she was gone, she recorded a homemade book on tape for my sister and I. That tape transformed her familiar voice into something new and surprising. That tape also opened up a whole new world for Kyle, as he began to pass the time in his room making up songs and recording them into his boom box.
In junior high, he was so committed to build on his experience, he took up a number of odd jobs, which began with a paper route and evolved into dog grooming, managing an ice cream store, and selling chandeliers and Band-Aids, all to raise money to buy his first 4 track cassette recorder. But being from Chicago, Kyle longed to also capture the super produced songs of fellow city dwellers The Smashing Pumpkins. Soon, that path led him to Nashville, TN, a town known for its song craft above all.
Ive been inspired by encouraging friends and fellow musicians I cant go to a show and see other bands play without feeling that urge to also be playing, Kyle explains. After self-releasing a double EP with the plain-spoken title Various Stages of Nudity, Kyle built on that enthusiasm by endlessly recording. I work quickly, writing as Im recording, combining interesting production and the immediacy of a fresh idea. Recording is an escape for me. It is my drug, my meditation. Its very gratifying when someone tells me they like a song, because there is no difference between me and the song. This is no more evident than with the artistic culmination achieved in the writing and recording of Amos in Ohio.
When describing the album, Kyle Andrews tells us, "Amos in Ohio starts with me basically in this stupor ("everything's fine, but I think Im losing my mind") and throughout the record Im fighting for my dreams. I guess fighting for that sense of naiveté that makes life fun. And in the end of "Shower With the Sun Shining In" (I won't let go of the love that Ive grown") I decide to hold onto it, despite going through some depressing moments. Im pretty manic in real life-- I try to stay positive with my writing.
Originally released locally in Nashville by Music Citys favorite indie, Fictitious Records, Badman Recording Co. has now picked it up for an international re-release -giving it a whole new life. Kyle remarks, for the re-release I thought it would be fun to freshen up a few songs, mostly to give myself something new to listen to. Ultimately, I think the record is stronger while retaining the original vibe. The album features several new versions of the songs on Amos in Ohio, as well as a new tune (Self Help Tapes) and has been remastered.
With Amos in Ohio making the rounds, look for Kyle to emerge from the safety of his home studio to breathe new life into his songs on the road later this summer and into the fall.
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