How can you not love an album with a song named after Robert Redford? The charms of the new one from Matt Kivel are many. Escape from L.A. is full of laid-back pleasures, and intimate alt-folk.
Having played with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Fleet Foxes, and others, Matt Kivel brings the style of those bands to his own work. His voice recalls Nilsson at times, but the tunes are more down-tempo and introspective. Call this new folk if you like, but Escape from L.A. remains more complex than you might think. "Santa Monica" is breezy and bright, a summer day's drive on the coast, while "Robert Redford" is a story of Hollywood told intimately. "Tidal Wave" has a bit more heft to it, with an organ hook that makes this one especially compelling. Similarly, many of these selections have electronic touches or other instrumental flourishes as to render these a bit more intricate than similarly pitched tunes from other groups.
The material on Escape from L.A. is affecting in a modest way. Fans of Fleet Foxes and that sort of thing will find this pretty easy to embrace. Kivel has a voice that recalls the best male voices from the Laurel Canyon glory days, and the songs here are largely contemplative (though "Little Mark" does roar a little like early Sparklehorse or Grandaddy).
Escape from L.A. by Matt Kivel is out now via Scissor Tail Records Details below.
[Photo: Matt Kivel]