ANYMORE



1) A phonk producer based in Minsk, Belarus. 2) Romantica originated in Minneapolis, in 2002, characterized by deeply felt poetic imagery enshrined in effortlessly emotive popular melodies suggestive of folk, country, and pop music histories; in similar traditions with Ryan Adams, Damien Rice and The Wallflowers. Winners of Minnesota Musics BEST AMERICANA RECORDING in 2004 for their debut Its Your Weakness that I Want(2024 Records) and two consecutive awards in the INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (2nd in 2004, 1st in 2005), their talent has been promptly verified. Venturing to the East Coast in December, the Pittsburh Tribune suggested singer and songwriter Ben Kyle may be the next notable musician to come from (Van) Morrisons homeland and New Yorks VILLAGE VOICE prophesied YOU'LL WANT TO SAY YOU SAW THEM NOW. Kyle arrived in Minneapolis in 95 by way of Belfast, N. Ireland and his songs evoke an emotional gravity and poetic sensibility surely not unaffected by his boyhood backdrop. While Romanticas folk/country/pop songs can be sweet and airy, they tend to retain a poignant sense of seriousness, delivering an often understated heart to heart in an envelope of melodic charm and lyrical nostalgia. Luke Jacobs, James Orvis (the Melismatics), Tony Zaccardi (Kruddler), and Jessy Greene (Wilco, Jayhawks, Minus 5) along with Kyle have just released AMERICA PASTE MAGAZINE gave Romantica's new album, America, 4 **** Stars: For anyone worrying that the Americana genre has become a repository of the bad irony of hipsters and has-been quacks, fear not: Romantica is here to save the day. Singer/songwriter Ben Kyle is the latest in a long line of European exports to reinvigorate a genre by reclaiming it as his own—“God walks on the water, I walk through the rain,” he sings. With one foot still in his home country, and one taking a tentative step into the mess of promises and disappointments on the other side of the pond, Kyle and his bandmates dust off the brilliance at the heart of America. Most albums with such ambitious titles fall flat in their attempt; Kyle—in songs and voice that sit comfortably between Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams—dwells comfortably in the long shadows cast by his forefathers while leaving his own undeniable stamp on the proceedings. PASTE Magazine Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.