Unless I Say It Tastes Like Cox…

Singer-songwriter Kyle Cox’s EP, To All My Old Friends, is a small collection of pop rock tracks that demonstrate everything that is right about young, indie artists. It is inspired, fresh, and promising. His lyrics are direct and thought-provoking, easy to relate to. His music is simple, but well constructed. His talent is obvious. His desire to write good music is undeniable.

The oddly upbeat “Company” opens up the EP. The piano in the track reminds me of “So Happy Together” at first, but the message of the song is the exact opposite. It’s about the search for a companion and the feeling of loneliness. The upbeat sound melts away to a slower ballad of longing. The tempo changes seem to resemble the up and down nature of a search for that special someone, or that “biggest fan” as Cox puts it. The guitars are seemingly perfect in this track, to boot. Overall, a solid opener for this EP.

Each track feeds into the next seamlessly, but has a life of it’s own. The overall sound is part folk, part pop, part alt rock. “My Great Love” is a pure piano ballad. “Come Back Home” brings to mind singer-songwriters Damien Jurado, David Bazaan, and the late Jeff Buckley. “Life is Good”… well you grab that track for yourself on the last TPM mixtape. And, the closer, “To All My Old Friends”, has that same type of alt-country feel that you’d hear from Jim Ward/Sleepercar, Doug Burr, Ryan Adams, and Dustin Kensrue.

Ultimately, what you need to know about Florida troubadour Kyle Cox is three fold:

1. He writes good music.
2. He writes good lyrics.
3. He is able to take that good writing and transform it into something simple, pure, intelligent, and enjoyable.

Oh… and his EP is free. You can download it here. Check back soon for a full interview and more from Kyle.

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~ by thepaintedman on May 15, 2010.