"Angels" flies
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 02/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If Fiona Apple has pain and rage, Kyler Englund has sorrow. The singer-songwriter creates an emotionally ripping EP, "How Many Angels?", which encapsulates all the sorrow and pain that come with losing a loved one, without any faux sentiments to ring false at the end.
After an ethereal minute-long intro, Kyler launches into the heartrending "If the World Would Just End," about how she wishes that time would stop so that her dreams would remain intact, and -- most importantly -- her beloved mother wouldn't die. "If the world would just end tomorrow/then I'd never have to face cancer killing my mother/and she would remain always beautiful and young..."
The violin-led "Lump" is also dedicated to her mother, facing her future loss, followed by the folky "Why?", where she asks God, "how many angels do you need in heaven?/We could use more here on earth!" In the aftermath of loss, Kyler focuses on grief and trying to continue alone in "Save Me," and finally sings of the loss and how things will never be the same, in "These Four Walls."
Everyone knows the pain of losing a loved one, despite all the well-meaning condolences about how time heals all wounds. Kyler makes use of no cliches -- all her songs here are straight from the heart, and despite only having five-and-a-half songs, this EP feels deeper and richer than most full-length albums.
Kyler's style tends to veer towards folky-pop, with some hints of rock and classical pop as well. So guitar tends to drive her simple, fairly catchy songs, with some solid backup percussion and bass. The exception is "Lump," which technically has guitar and bass, but is led by delicate piano and some poignant strings.
Her voice is a subtle one. At first it seems like a fairly ordinary husky voice, until she hits the line "then I'd never have to watch my dreams smash on the rocks!" After that, it swells dramatically, trembling a little on the most emotional lines. In "Hope" and "Lump," however, her voice sounds far more delicate and distant.
Kyler Englund's "How Many Angels" is a loving, grief-filled ode to lost loved ones, and achieves greater depth than most albums twice its size. Wrenching."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1