Rising Star: Kyle Swartzwelder (with Audio)
May 11th, 2010 • Commentary, Folk
When I met Kyle Swartzwelder, he was hosting open mic night at the Burlap and Bean, a coffee shop outside of Philadelphia that knows its coffee and knows its music. That evening, Kyle informed me that he was going to have to find a real job. Music simply isn’t enough to support him. Anyone who heard Swartzwelder play his folk ballads that night, however, might disagree with that assessment. Though music might not pay the bills at the moment, Swartzwelder is certainly a promising young craftsman and songwriter. His self-titled 2008 debut album deserves further investigation.
Swartzwelder performs an uncomplicated country tinged folk. His ballad Julianne, a song expressing the joys of new love, best exemplifies the songwriter’s genius. He does not mess around with complicated lyrics or deep metaphors. Rather, his beautiful voice expresses his longing. Ever repeat the name of the girl you love to yourself to hear the sound of it on your own lips? That’s the chorus of this song—longing repetition that instantly touches the listen. The song ends with a usual and welcome flourish for the album. In the only true guitar solo of the project, Kyle plugs in the electric and rips out an Allman Brothers sounding guitar solo.
Often Swartzwelder’s best work emerges when he leans toward the country twang. 6x1x1 begins as a slow quizzical ballad and really tears at the heartstrings when Andy Keenan joins in with is still guitar. His guitar feels like the ebb and flow of a storyteller, an appropriate touch for the tradition that Swartzwelder continues. The songwriter himself juxtaposed brooding and fearful verses with the hopeful chorus.
Earlier in the album, The Way Things Should Be brings Swartzwelder furthest toward country. The song shines as a beacon of light for those mixed up in their own heads. Like most of his songs, a woman plays a prominent role. Unlike in most of the songs, however, I am unable to determine whether the woman is a real character in his life or some eventual but not yet present salvation. The odd touch of this song lies in its foresight. From a desperate standpoint, Swartzwelder manages to pound out a country folk romp celebrating his eventual mental recovery.
Swartzwelder ends with a cordial farewell reminding us Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine. He is too kind in this assessment. After such a beautiful album, the task of going separate ways is not easy for the listener. His pleasant, yet powerful, voice stays with us, pleading to loves come and gone. Letting him return to his way, perhaps to get a job, doesn’t appeal to us listeners that have fallen for Swartzwelder’s charm.
6x1x1 by Kyle Swartzwelder
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-Dan Engelberg