October 27, 2019

The Orange Kyte Carousel

7/10 Dreamy lo-fi garage rock with shoegaze and 90’s vibes.

The Orange Kyte Carousel is a lo-fi garage rock album with horns and music that will make you move. The first single off Carousel is the opening track “Masquerade!” a rocking garage rock song with lo-fi retro vibes that is an energy powerhouse. The album moves through shoegaze, West Coast USA dream pop, and garage rock.

The Orange Kyte Carousel was released on October 25th 2019 through Little Cloud Records.

There is a 90’s sound to this album that hints toward Dandy Warhols or elements of The Jesus and Mary Chain. The is mixed in with a dreamy California Beach pop sound which reminds me of bands like Surf Curse, and Mystic Braves. The vocals have a distinctive lo-fi tone created by using effects and modulation.

It’s clear that they intentionally created the lo-fi tone on the album and its effective and sounds distinctive and cool. The mix and master was done by Josiah Webb. The layers of instrumentation come across evenly and don’t overlook the complexity of the tracks. The whole album has a lo-fi sound the instruments sound a little dirty and warm, the drums have pop but feel muted even with the crashes and cymbals. The horns are used sparingly throughout and add interesting dynamic to the mix. There are organs that are used throughout the album as well.

“Demonstration Garden” has the catchiest chorus on the album and it gets stuck in my head.

The Orange Kyte is from Vancouver British Colombia Canada. Their west coast sound rings loud and clear on this album with almost a surf grudge tone. Carousel is the third album from this band. Their Debut album Grow It Right (2017) was followed by Say Yes! (2018) all released through Little Cloud Recordings in Portland Oregon USA.