Le Switch
Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Aaron Kyle sings as if he's never five minutes from his last whiskey, or five minutes from his next, occasionally lurching into a down-deep growl you wouldn't think could come from an angular white dude in a collared shirt and old browline spectacles.
But it's that voice, and the woeful tales it conveys, that have endeared L.A. fans to the distinctly vintage soul-pop of Le Switch. "We're not the fashion police," Kyle says. "I think if you write a good song, people are going to respond, no matter whether it's gonna end up in Vice magazine. Besides, I'd trade soul for cool any day."
There's plenty of that on "We Are Le Switch," the debut album due this month on Autumn Tone Records (a local imprint run by Justin Gage, the man behind the Americana-leaning blog An Aquarium Drunkard).
Le Switch's sound, which nods to the likes of Leon Russell, Dr. John and Randy Newman, first began to take shape when Kyle fell in with drummer Joe Napolitano in 2005. Maria DeLuca (trumpet, viola, vocals) joined next, and by the time keyboardist Josh Charney and bassist Christopher Harrison had come on board, Kyle was eager to "make the Leon Russell or Harry Nilsson album we wanted to make," he says. "Everybody in this band listens to a huge assortment of '60s and '70s music — there's not a lot of new music I can drive with." - L.A. Times
Le Switch, a band name which is damn hard to say without affecting a bad French accent, has added another notch to a year whose belt is already full. The notches, in this case, count the bands who have released albums that, genuinely and without schmaltz, channel classic rock and pop tropes through a modern sounding release. And Now…Le Switch falls more on the side of head-bobbing Dr. Dog than reflective-nod-inducing Blitzen Trapper, but the results are immediately identifiable and repeatedly enjoyable.Read the whole review
The key here is flow. With albums like this, and especially with bands I’m not overly familiar - which most people won’t be on a debut LP - I prefer that the album is kept short. In this case, ten tracks is a perfect digestible portion. It allows the band, fronted by the dynamic Aaron Kyle, to get in, get out and leave a sweet aftertaste.
And it’s Kyle’s voice that serves as one of Le Switch’s biggest boons. He sings in a style that takes occasional flights into a grittier, yowling energy that is thrilling and when they do appear in songs like “Give Me Something,” their proto-Waitsian growl is an infusion and a rush. It’s the sound of someone abandoning self-consciousness and turning to sheer emotion and performance.
The loose-limbed feel of the album recalls a Basement Tapes type atmosphere. Fully integrated and fleshed out; an impressive feat for a band with only a prior EP under their belt and two years as a band. Available now via AD’s label Autumn Tone. words/j. neas - Aquarium Drunkard.com
Not that this has anything to do with the record, but Aaron Kyle, lead singer of Le Switch, is intense and maybe one of the funnier lead singers I’ve ever hung out with. In a drunken, bonding, bromance session over four White Castle sliders and two WC chicken sandwiches, I probably told the guy things my wife doesn’t even know about me. The next night, this time over Mrs. Winter’s chicken strips (we had to walk through the drive-thru btw), the sharefest continued. Kyle explained the birdman club, his half-Mexican belly and confided intimate stories of redneckism from his now defunct marriage. We hit it off is what I’m saying. We both have powerful, somewhat obnoxious, laughs and the uncanny ability to embarrass ourselves and others within seconds of entering a public place. You put us together and it was a look-at-me-dogfight-to-the-death.
Read the rest!
Le Switch’s upcoming record And Now…Le Switch is being released September 30th, 2008 on Autumn Tone Records - the label of our friend and SIRIUS colleague, the Aquarium Drunkard. I haven’t really written about any of Justin’s bands because of that relationship/friendship, but after a weekend in Nashville with this band, there is no way I could ignore them any further.
The record has already often been compared to Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 album Ram so it is even more fitting that the band will be covering McCartney’s Monkberry Moon Delight for an upcoming cover compilation. At times, the intensity of Kyle’s vocals lend a modern Man Man/Dr. Dog vibe to the whole deal as well - but this is more prevalent in their live show versus the record. Having seen them both live and having listened to the record now more than a few times, they definitely need to find a way to capture a little more of the live show on record, but until then, this is a really enjoyable effort. - My Old Kentucky Blog
Honky-tonk keyboards and fiddle ablaze, Le Switch give alt-country a riotous ragtime rip. Formed in 2006, the group has since played every small stage in town (not to mention a set of amazing on-air gigs for the late, great Indie 103). Frontman Aaron Kyle has one of the most seductive and mournful voices around, running the gamut from yodel to Hank Williams warble. The band plays tonight ahead of the release of a new EP, The Devil Needs a Cough Drop. - Flavorpill
Thank Justin “Aquarium Drunkard” Gage and his Autumn Tone imprint for releasing the full-length debut from Silverlake stalwarts, Le Switch. A shambling, boozy and beautiful 38-minute bender, Aaron Kyle and his talented bandmates, eschew au courant influences for simple, straightforward songcraft. With a skeleton of Ram-era McCartney, Nilson Schmilsson, and The Band, Le Switch are Los Angeles’ answer to Dr. Dog. Dismissing their sound as overly familiar misses the point; Le Switch’s influences might be well-worn but their voice is unmistakably unique. Don’t miss their February Monday night residency at Spaceland. - LA Weekly
Le Switch has got a good thing going for sure. Falling somewhere between the dark Will Sheff stylized Americana of Okkervil River and the twang-pop sensibilites of Rhett Miller and his Old 97’s. There is a certain wavering edge that Le Swtich’s music so precariously walks on their debut album And Now… Le Switch. It is loose and bouncy. It is the edge of rock-n-soul music that is carried by horns, raucous pianos, organs, strings, etc… as well as the whiskey-soaked vocals of singer Aaron Kyle. The album was released by the folks at Autumn Tone Records who also happen to be the same people that do the Aquarium Drunkard blog. - Canyouseethesunset.com
“Formed two years ago, Los Angeles’ The Switch sports some ragged, booze-soaked vocals courtesy of one Aaron Kyle, and plays with a bouncy rock ‘n’ roll soul that commands attention. Think Greg Dulli’s Twilight Singers with less pathos and more laughter. Kyle has a similar R&B-singer-via-drunken-rocker vocal delivery with a less-is-more approach to rhythm guitar. In fact, apart from the opener, “Tongue Tied,” and “Living in Another World,” the band’s debut five-song EP, Hello Today, actually leans more on Joshua Charney’s piano for its foundation than Kyle’s guitar…” - Performer Magazine
“The band is now a quintet and far beyond what you’d consider “passionate.” Furiously belting out melodies with guitars, percussion, bass and a wicked trumpet player in Maria DeLuca, the Switch played a brutal set with glorious results. If that display of musicanship wasn’t good enough, and it was, last night’s gig at Radio Free Silver Lake’s “Let’s Independent” sealed the band’s reputation as an incredible band to behold.
I’d wager most people confuse Le Switch as the next Cold War Kids, but this is light years better and definitely believeable.” - www.littleradio.com
Aaron Kyle, main songwriter-singer-guitarist for L.A.'s Le Switch, is a convincing frontman. Kyle's songs stomp with raw power while his talented troupe churn out infectious rhythms, keys, slinky bass and soaring trumpet melodies that sound like love letters soaking in kerosene. After a handful of SXSW appearances and local showcases, it's no surprise that Le Switch's fire-breathing rock was picked up by Aquarium Drunkard's Autumn Tone imprint. The quintet's debut album will drop August 19. - Buzznet
Discography
Hello Today E.P. - 2007 - Self Released
And Now... Le Switch - 2008 - Autumn Tone Records
The Devil Needs a Cough Drop E.P. - 2009 - Autumn Tone Records
The Rest of Me is Space - 2010 - Self Released
Photos
Bio
When Los Angeles’ Le Switch decided to go into the studio to record the follow up to 2008’s And Now….Le Switch, they mulled their options. With the departure of their longtime viola/trumpet player they wanted to sharpen their focus and make a truly collaborative record. With too many distractions in Los Angeles, the remaining four members opted to head north to Hangar Studios in Sacramento (Vetiver, The Broken West, The Morning Benders).
The change in environment worked its magic. Singer/guitarist Aaron Kyle opened up the songwriting process and the other three members contributed lyrics and production ideas, organically pushing the band in new directions. At their core, the new songs retain the soulful, early 1970’s rock ‘n’ roll approach of the first album, but as if filtered through the pop half of Jon Brion’s brain.
Josh Charney’s presence is felt profoundly; there are very few songs when the first note played isn’t from an upright piano, organ, Wurlitzer or Moog. He also contributes the almost Petty-esque track, “Bad Decisions.” Christopher Harrison (who also plays bass) punctures all the toe-tapping in the songs with jagged guitar solos. Drummer Joe Napolitano (Henry Clay People, Princeton, The Northstar Session) once again engineers, contributes the occasional guitar riff and even plays keys on his late-period Beatles-inspired contribution, “How We Imagined It.”
Aaron Kyle’s voice (both literally and figuratively) is front and center in the mix. Flavorpill described him as “one of the most seductive and mournful voices around, running the gamut from yodel to Hank Williams warble” and the LA Times (Buzz Bands) said he “sings as if he’s never five minutes from his last whiskey , or five minutes from his next.” Lyrically, Kyle explores classic, personal themes like: falling in love, falling out of love, searching for your place, finding your passion, Sisyphean struggles and succumbing to desperation.
When asking the band about the meaning behind the album title (The Rest of Me is Space) I was told a little story of their Halloween in Sacramento. The band was taking a break from recording and Christopher called home to say hello to his wife and daughter. They had just returned from a costume party. His wife, Bridget, mentioned being particularly impressed with one of the little boy’s costumes. When she asked the boy to explain it, the boy said, “I’m Saturn (a huge blue, orange and yellow bulb with rings covered his head), and the rest of me is space” wearing black pajamas with glitter. The band fell in love with the story and when they saw the actual photo of him, it was decided that this be the name of the record.
Le Switch is ecstatic to have Paul Larson (The Minor Canon, Strictly Ballroom, DNTEL) join them on bass for their upcoming tour. Their record release show takes place at Spaceland (in their home base of Silver Lake) on November 4th. They’ll follow that up with a West Coast tour that will take them through the new year.
Links
