Kyle Craft’s Girl Crazy cover series
“Something On Your Mind” (Karen Dalton cover)
YouTube: https://youtu.be/W05-MeBQzZQ
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2wH67kp
“Distant Fingers” (Patti Smith cover):
YouTube: https://youtu.be/AVnG6vVY5HM
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2wJNQRQ
After Kyle Craft wrapped up the recording of his upcoming (all originals) 2018 album, he decided to record a cover of a Jenny Lewis song for fun. This quickly spiraled into a full fledged project with Kyle recording a slew of songs by his favorite female singers. Working with his bandmate, Kevin Clark in their home studio after hours, Craft multi-tracked all the parts himself, and what started as an idle aside became a labor of love.
Now Sub Pop and Craft have picked ten favorites from the sessions to release as Girl Crazy, a series of 2-track singles rolling out weekly starting in September. Focusing on Craft’s acclaimed interpretive talents — his version of Bowie’s “Heroes” stole the show at Newport 2017 — Girl Crazy introduces audiences, who may know Craft from his Sub Pop debut Dolls of Highland, to another side of the artist. The series will run every Thursday through October 5th, and also features covers of artists like Sharon Van Etten, Jenny Lewis, Cher and Patsy Cline.
The first installment in the covers series are Kyle’s interpretations of Karen Dalton’s ‘Something On Your Mind” and Patti Smith’s “Distant Fingers”
Kyle Craft’s Dolls of Highland available now worldwide from Sub Pop
What people have said about Kyle Craft:
“…Undeniably unique: Kyle Craft is a strong contender for outsider of the year. An unlikely hero of the year. An unlikely hero of rock music, he’s nonetheless created a noteworthy, potentially groundbreaking debut album in Dolls of Highland.” – PASTE
“If Dolls of Highland has a basis in autobiography—the title references the Shreveport neighborhood where it was made—Craft spends the album imagining himself as Ziggy Sawdust, a flamboyant fop working the barrelhouse piano in the front room of the seediest bayou bordello. His songs illustrate how the intense religiosity and voodoo-infused mythology of the South make it fertile turf for the sort of colorful characterization and freak-scenery on which glam rock was founded.” – Pitchfork
“Just enough of Ziggy’s stardust gives “Pentecost” its musical sheen, but it’s Craft’s vocal intensity that outlasts all else.” [“10 Artists You Need to Know”] – Rolling Stone
“…hurls together Craft’s Dylan-meets-Brett Anderson holler with rollicking ragtime stomp, reminiscent of vintage Cockney Rebel or early Suede. The instantly singable likes of “Berlin” and “Lady of the Ark” are peopled by “girls and ghosts” from Craft’s hometown of Shreveport each depicted with a mix of empathy, humour and occasional savagery. And behind these tragicomic nightlife tales is a top-notch songwriter who has been fired by the sting of romantic betrayal.” [Dolls of Highland] – The Guardian
“Paired with his knack for great melodies, it demonstrates Craft’s emotional power as a songwriter.” [“Pentecost”] – NPR
“Craft, who grew up in Louisiana but now lives in Portland, brings an authentic southern blues sensibility to glam and folk rock but what makes Dolls one of the best albums of the year is his ability to transform his influences into a sound that’s all his own.” [Dolls of Highland] – Huffington Post
“…The 27-year-old’s debut album, Dolls of Highland, earned almost exclusively positive reviews, following a simple formula: Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde crossed with David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Despite the transparent approach, he produced not a familiar sound but rather a cryptic sort of glam Americana that defies expectation…” – Village Voice
“…Craft’s music is so full of its own weird singularity that he’s on to something far beyond idol worship.” – Billboard
“Craft displays the full prowess of his vocal range, hitting high notes that hark back to glam rock vocals of the ’70s” – American Songwriter
