Kolb is the bedroom pop project of one Michael Kolb, who’s stepping out from his long term role as touring member of the electro-pop outfit Water From Your Eyes to deliver a trim nine-song set, issued by the Ramp Local label, out digitally on September 30, with vinyl due on October 21. Catchy and substantial even as the music’s bedroom origins are quickly ascertained, Tyrannical Vibes welcomes help at the microphone from fellow Brooklynites Ani Ivry-Block (of Palberta), Carolyn Hietter and others as Kolb plays guitar, bass, keyboards and more.
In terms of fidelity, Tyrannical Vibes is crisp and vibrant, with Kolb earning the bedroom pop descriptor through the nature of the song’s construction. It’s pretty clear the nine cuts are not the byproduct of a band, even as the thrust is multidimensional and full. Opener “Cruising” begins in the choppy-quirk zone but makes a slick transition into strum mode (with an undercurrent of power pop, even) as Kolb’s Princely falsetto binds it all together.
One of the record’s strong points is that Kolb doesn’t always take the vocal lead. It’s Carolyn Hietter’s voice up front in “I Guess I’m Lucky,” which leans into the sophisto side of gal-sung indie pop while keeping tabs on the strummed string angle, and with Hietter’s brief sax solo an added treat as Kolb enunciates up a storm in the backing spot.
It’s Ani Ivry-Block singing on “Internal Affairs,” a decidedly electro-pop-inclined cut, although appealingly urgent and artily pulsating, or put another way, lacking in clichéd moves. And Ivry-Block’s delivery is warm and full and human. From there, Kolb sings lead on both the densely layered “Jean-Luc,” which lyrically references the cornerstone Nouvelle Vague director Jean-Luc Godard (RIP), and on “Ectoplasm,” where the driving electro-pop feel of “Internal Affairs” is combined with some bell-like tones, outbursts of raw guitar, and Kolb’s vocal alternating between a new wave croon and agitated post-punk shouts.
Hietter and Ivry-Block duet on “The Answer,” though they do give way to Kolb’s spoken passages in the back half. Musically, the track’s incessant, almost ’60s-ish rhythmic foundation fruitfully contrasts with the electronic gusts and washes without bringing any direct comparisons to mind. Interestingly, the reference points in the accompanying PR are felt more than heard, e.g. Guided by Voices in how Kolb’s songs are never unnecessarily prolonged (only one track, “Ectoplasm,” breaks three minutes), and Steely Dan in the tangibly sophisto touches, like the sax that returns in “I Love to Play the Game.”
The guy-gal singing in that song does provide a direct if restrained similarity to Fleetwood Mac, which is a pleasant twist. Entering the home stretch, Kolb’s voice is back up front in the buoyant title track, while Ivry-Block sings lead one last time in finale “Weather Synchronized.” While there are no duds on Tyrannical Vibes, it’s in the opening and closing selections of the album that the strength of Kolb’s writing really shines through, along with the sense that this was a really fun album to make. Hopefully, they’ll make a few more.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
