Kyle Craft (born January 9, 1989), is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He released his debut album, '' Dolls of Highland'' from

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

records in 2016.

Biography

Craft was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. First drawn to music through the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church choir in his early childhood, Craft was introduced to rock music through a

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

compilation that he found in

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

. At the age of 15, he started playing the acoustic guitar his grandmother gave him for Christmas. He began to record songs on a laptop that he bought in 2007. Craft relocated first in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, where he formed the band Gashcat releasing the album, Reunion! in 2011 followed by the Devil Kid Demos EP. The band broke up in 2013 due in part to the persistent negative comparison to

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psy ...

. Craft moved to Portland, where he started writing his solo debut album. After recording the tracks at the laundry room of his

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

home with a DIY rig and his laptop, he reconnected with Sub Pop Records, whom he has been in touch with after previously passing over a demo. The tracks were mixed by Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel of

The Helio Sequence The Helio Sequence is an American indie rock duo from Beaverton, Oregon, signed to Sub Pop. The band consists of Brandon Summers on vocals and guitars and Benjamin Weikel on drums and keyboards. History Summers and Weikel formed The Helio Seque ...

, and Craft released his debut album, '' Dolls of Highland'', in April 2016. He assembled a live band following its release and embarked a tour. Craft was selected as the opening act for

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock music, rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley (American musician), Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as ...

Fall 2016 tour.

Musical style and artistry

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's James Christopher Monger described Craft as "a singer/songwriter with a robust, full-throated wail and knack for pairing

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

-ian hooks and Dylan-esque wordplay with glam-kissed pop swagger." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that he sounds like "a swamp bar jukebox loaded with British glitter and Seventies

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

" and turns his tracks into a "poetic gumbo of Southern roots, electric folk and preening

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

." His sound also features elements from

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

. Craft cites Bob Dylan as an influence over his distinctive vocal style. His other influences include David Bowie,

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

Live band members

Live band members as adapted from ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'': * Kyle Craft – vocals, various instruments * Haven Multz – drums * Austin Barone – bass * Jeremy Kale Padot – guitar * Ben Steinmetz – organ * Kevin Clark – piano

Discography

Studio albums * '' Dolls of Highland'' (2016) * '' Full Circle Nightmare'' (2018) * '' Showboat Honey'' (2019) Compilations * ''Girl Crazy'' (2017) Live Albums * ''LIVE! From A Dying Planet'' (2020) Music videos * "Eye of a Hurricane" (2016, dir. Tyler Bertram) * "The Rager" (2017) * "2 Ugly 4 NY" (2019, dir. Eleanor Petry) * "Deathwish Blue" (2019) * "Broken Mirror Pose" (2019, dir. Kyle Craft)

References

External links

Kyle Craft
on

Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Kyle Living people 1989 births American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists Singers from Portland, Oregon Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Glam rock musicians Sub Pop artists Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Singer-songwriters from Oregon Guitarists from Louisiana Guitarists from Oregon 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers