Kyte - Dead Waves

If there is one thing that record label Kids does well, it’s pick bands. Take for example The Silent Type, The Wombats and iLikeTrains who rank amongst the more engaging acts who have passed through their doors. Kyte, however, sit somewhat uncomfortably amongst that roster of acts.

On paper it’s easy to see why they ought to fit; debut LP ‘Dead Waves’ is awash with glacial landscapes and some genuinely touching pop melodies not a hundred miles away from the best that Captain had to offer on their album ‘This Is Hazelville’. Atmospheric opener ‘The Smoke Saves Lives’ lays down the feel of the album, gentle electronic beats layered with hushed vocals, perhaps best exemplified in ‘You’re Alone Tonight’ which plays out like a modern day homage to the Pet Shop Boys. Although early comparisons to Sigur Ros prove to be unfounded, what Kyte do well is confidently ushering out swathes of atmosphere, aptly supplied by the near constant flow of synths that envelope each song.

Sadly the album takes its biggest and boldest steps in its first half, with little new being offered by the end of the twelve tracks. At the halfway point, things take a turn for the worse with album low point ‘Fear From Death’, a dreary and quite frankly dull affair. Still, things are partly redeemed on the gentle ‘No-One Is Angry, Just Afraid’, which possesses a quiet charm and intimacy the rest of the album so desperately lacks. As a live act, Kyte can and do wonders, but on CD at least the atmospherics are at times lost against the all too familiar problem of repetition.