Kites
You and I in the Kaleidoscope
Self-Released
By Annie Lynn White
You and I in the Kaleidoscope is exemplary of what alternative music should have done in the late nineties instead of allowing Limp Bizkit and Slipknot to hijack its promise. Had this been the case, it's more than likely that I (and many others no doubt) would still listen to commercial radio. It's symphonic, with every next chord exactly the one it ought to be. It sweeps, building up to these epic moments of release sung by a former choir boy-turned-rockstar. It emotes, building fantastic anticipation in your chest. It rocks.
Whereas most EPs are seemingly thrown together to complete a press kit, Kaleidoscope truly behaves like a complete album. "Daylight" sets the tone, "Easy Now" keeps the energy going, "Game of Love and War" is soulful and haunting, and "Heroes and Villains" leaves you with an aftertaste that lingers pleasantly as the fading piano plays into the ether. In sixteen minutes Jean-Philip Grobler has issued a pithy contribution to rock sans filler, and while an hour of amazing music is the ideal, it's difficult--after all, even symphonies have a few minutes in them that don't blow your mind. In that sense, Jean has saved himself from "these four songs were awesome, but the rest was crap," which is, at the very least, wise marketing. Even still, I'm curious as to whether such talent is even capable of creating a sub-par song. There certainly aren't any hints of it in Kaleidoscope.
As much as I cringe to admit it in light of my previous praise, Kites is, well, it's emo. But it's emo for adults--a little calmer, more mature; for example, you wouldn't be embarrassed if someone else overhears the lyrics. There's a definite sophistication to the music, the kind of effortless prog rock that feels like the low key parts of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android." Jean isn't trying to be anyone, he isn't trying to be any particular genre, he just wants perfection. And I'd be hard pressed to say he's creating anything short of that.
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