Romantica

 

The band debuts songs from America, recorded in Ben Kyle's home studio, at the Varsity this month.

 

Romantica certainly picked an appropriate moniker for its pop/folk exploits. Nearly all of the group’s lyrical concerns are matters of the heart on the breezy yet memorable sophomore release, America. Featuring Minnesotan-by-way-of-Ireland Ben Kyle, whose pleasing tenor has enough gravel in it to intrigue, Romantica’s mid-tempo acoustic pop follows tried-and-true formulas, while instrumental fills (a twinkling xylophone trill here, a dollop of harmonica there)elevate the tunes beyond the commonplace.

Kyle is quick to credit his bandmates (drummer James Orvis, bassist Luke Jacobs and violinist Jessy Greene), and some notable guest players (pedal-steel maestro Eric Heywood), with adding their own sensibilities to his songs. “We’re kind of a weird band in that we’ve never had that typical lead-guitar guy who gets out there and shreds,” Kyle explains. “Jessy is our only lead instrumentalist. She’s very natural, and can come in on a dime and play anything. Eric stopped by while on tour for a day, and could hear a song one time and then instantly add beauty to it. Working with musicians like them was a really fun part of the process.”

If the album’s sound feels carefully considered, consider that Kyle spent more than a year building a recording studio in his house in which to make the album. “It was important we do this all ourselves,” Kyle says. “We’re a young band, and the first time around the people we worked with had a lot of creative input and say in how our first album turned out. To really find our way we needed to make our own record. There was a pretty long learning curve just figuring out all of the technology.”

Now that Kyle’s got the ins and outs of recording at home squared away, he won’t be spending much time there. “We’re definitely planning to tour as much as we can after the record is out,” he says. “I would like to make this my livelihood, to support my family and myself making music, where having going to work every day means working on my songs.”