|
Born and bred in war-torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, it's probably not so surprising that (writer/frontman) Ben Kyle's sweet and airy pop tunes retain a poignant sense of seriousness. Romantica manage to deliver an understated heart-to-heart in an envelope of melodic charm and sarcastic wit: too smart to be sentimental, too sweet to be taken too seriously. Wilco, Ryan Adams, Nick Drake, Damien Rice, Elvis Costello and The Replacements have all been used to describe their sound, and yet Luke Jacobs (bassist/multi-instrumentalist) calls Honey, a single on their recently released debut album "It's Your Weakness That I Want," an R&B track. "Those bass lines are gonna get somebody laid," he claims. City Pages likened Romantica to "Americana [that's] something more than the sound of the States," and PULSE of the Twin Cities called them "The Wallflowers for the new millennium." Romantica's diversity is musical as well as thematic. The ten songs on the album traverse the territory of numerous genres, from pop to folk to alt-country to R&B to rock 'n roll, all the while retaining a charming accessibility. This crossover appeal may be why PULSE predicts that the band is "...destined to find a large audience." Jacobs and Kyle met in college and teamed up shortly thereafter percussionist Mark Hedlund, a veteran of the Twin Cities Music scene. Since the release of their debut album, Romantica have had the pleasure of the frequent membership of violinist and "string queen" Jessy Greene (Wilco, Jayhawks, Minus 5), who performed on the record. And more recently, the addition of Erik Brandt (Urban Hillbilly Quartet) on keys has completed their stage sound. Romantica sat comfortably in the CMJ Top 200 for over two months and have received frequent airplay on the Twin Cities FM mega-stations KQRS and Cities 97. |
Visit the Ben Kyle web-site | |
| Email Ben Kyle | |
Other artists from MN Andra Suchy Jonathan Rundman maelee whitman | |
Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |
| 2004-11-17 (1276 days) | 7th Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute |
| Isaac and Thorry Koren (the kin) | |
| David Newbould | |
| Ken Christianson | |
| Cameron McGill | |
| Kim Taylor | |
| Mike Borgia | |
| Dante Mazzetti | |
| Abbie Huxley | |
| Jeremy Linzee of Summer Lawns | |
| Davor Palos of ODE | |
| Chris Garneau | |
| Dave and Jeff of Redletter | |
| Small Wire | |
| Andy Mac | |
| Howie Statland of NYCSmoke | |
| Ali Eskandarian | |
| Duncan Sheik | |
| Jon Peet | |
| Ben Kyle | |
| Karen Rockower | |
| Monique Ortiz | |
| John Condron | |
| Joe Armstrong | |
| Alison Chesley (Poi Dog Pondering) | |
| Anna D'Aloisio | |
| 2004-11-16 (1277 days) | 7th Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute |
| Davor Palos of ODE | |
| Duncan Sheik | |
| Chris Garneau | |
| Dave and Jeff of Redletter | |
| Ken Christianson | |
| Small Wire | |
| Anna D'Aloisio | |
| Andy Mac | |
| Cameron McGill | |
| Isaac and Thorry Koren (the kin) | |
| Joe Armstrong | |
| Howie Statland of NYCSmoke | |
| Kim Taylor | |
| John Condron | |
| Mike Borgia | |
| Jeremy Linzee of Summer Lawns | |
| Ali Eskandarian | |
| David Newbould | |
| Monique Ortiz | |
| Dante Mazzetti | |
| Karen Rockower | |
| Abbie Huxley | |
| Ben Kyle | |
| Isaac and Thorry Koren (the kin) | |
| Jon Peet | |