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Friday, 25 July 2008 |
Read Steve McPherson of Reveille Magazine's beautiful commentary on the song Ixcatan .... "If you can find me a more brilliantly crafted, thoroughly evocative narrative in a pop song, I'll kiss you. On the mouth."
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"Hallelujah": The song remains the same |
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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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City Pages' music editor Andrea Myers discusses the vices and virtues of re-interpreting Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"
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"THE NATIONAL SIDE" wins ISC! |
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Wednesday, 09 April 2008 |
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"The National Side" just won First Place in the Americana category of the International Songwriting Competition ....and we're going to Nashville to celebrate!
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PASTE "TOP 100 ALBUMS OF 2007" |
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Monday, 31 December 2007 |
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Romantica - AMERICA slides in at #58! in PASTE magazine's picks for the year. Read the list....
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"BEST OF 2007" The Onion / City Pages / Star Tribune |
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Sunday, 30 December 2007 |
The 2007 "Best of" lists are in and more than a few were really kind to us. Here's a few clippings....
He might be originally from Northern Ireland, but songwriter Ben Kyle chose the title of his latest album well: Romantica's sweetly sad country-rock, awash in pedal steel, fiddle, and lovely Gram Parsons-esque melodies, is purely this side of the Atlantic. Even when Kyle sings about his family's emigration to the U.S. in "The National Side" it's not accompanied by Celtic instrumentation, but a wall of sprightly Tex-Mex horns. Melancholy and extreme sports aren't usually found together as major themes, but Kyle makes them work, eulogizing snowboarder Craig Kelly (who died in an avalanche in 2003) on "La Traviada" and mourning the death of a Mexican bandit in "Ixcatan."
- Christopher Bahn, The Onion
Few albums released locally this year are capable of garnering such widespread appreciation as Romantica's America. With lush string arrangements and delicate vocal melodies, Romantica appeal just as much to the Cities 97 crowd as they do to alt-country aficionados and folk revivalists, a testament to lead singer Ben Kyle's dexterous songwriting. From the up-tempo shuffle of "National Side" to the Springsteen-channeling slow-burner "Ixcatan," Kyle is adept at writing narrative lyrics and expressing sensitivity without turning on the cheese or being overtly poetic, making America beautiful in its simplicity.
- Andrea Myers, City Pages
Anyone wondering why Ireland native Ben Kyle named his band's second album after his adopted country will get it by CD's end. The music is Americana to the bone, with tasteful bits of piano, accordion and violin (Jessy Greene's) applied to his wistful, BoDeans/Ryan Adams-style twang-pop. Kyle's Irishness bleeds into his wounded-poet lyrics.
- Chris Riemenschneider, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Miss the Jayhawks? Think Gram Parsons could do no wrong? Long for a touch of pre-migraine Wilco? Then belly up to the bar for a taste of Romantica, led by Irish immigrant Ben Kyle and featuring moody, lilting Irish-American tales sweetened by the moving pedal steel of Eric Heywood. Inspirational verse: “I’ve tried to live my life / Between the platter and the knife / Between my daughter and my wife / Is where you’ll find me” from “How To Live in A Modern World”. Pick to click: imagine Ryan Adams fronting Calexico for a lament of dashed dreams and hopeful schemes on “The National Side”.
- Trip McClatchy, Teenage Kicks
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Wednesday, 14 November 2007 |
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Romantica's new album AMERICA is now available at all Twin Cities metro area Target stores on the Cities 97 endcap.
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Tonight with Colbie Caillat |
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 |
Romantica play tonight with Colbie Caillat at the Fine Line in Minneapolis for the Cities 97 Sampler release party. They'll also be performing on KARE 11 tomorrow morning after 10.
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Monday, 12 November 2007 |
“The National Side” is a finalist in this year’s International Songwriting Competition!
The New York Times calls the ISC, “THE songwriting competition to take note of.”
Judges this year include Tom Waits, Robert Smith, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Macy Gray and Frank Black among others.
You can vote for “The National Side” in the Peoples Voice Competition HERE ....
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