Echo Bloom; Photo courtesy of Echo Bloom
Roughly five years ago, Echo Bloom’s founder and frontman Kyle Evans set out to write and record a three album trilogy, each album focusing on a particular rock genre. Blue came out in 2013 and had a folk leaning to it. Three years later, Red was released and it was a rocker. This February, the trilogy will be complete with the release of the poppier Green.
“I think it’s important to be ambitious,” asserts Evans. “When I started this band, that was a challenge that I set for myself. I wanted to make something really beautiful, whether it’s folk music or rock music or something more experimental. The medium and the people I’ve worked with have changed, but I’ve always tried to hold on to that fundamental idea.”
Echo Bloom’s musical output has consistently lived up to Evans’ creative ideals. The band’s albums, although recorded under wildly differing circumstances, share Evans’ distinctive melodic sensibility, his vivid, expressive lyrics, and his lovingly crafted arrangements. Whether he’s performing alone or fronting an expanded band, Evans’ gently intoxicating songs stand in a class of their own.
Echo Bloom’s new album, Green, is perhaps Evans’ most accomplished effort yet, with the songs showcasing Evans’ distinctively rootsy pop-folk songcraft, as well as his penchant for carefully textured arrangements that amplify the material’s musical and emotional depth. Recorded with renowned songwriter/guitarist Kevin Salem producing and Evans’ wildly talented band — including vocalist/keyboardist Aviva Jaye, bassist Alex Minier, and drummer Cody Rahn — Green is something rare and special.
The Big Takeover premieres the vibrant, melodic Americana track “The Duke” off the LP, which features Evans’ plaintive vocals and lyrics atop an earthy roots rock base.
