From the van to the tour bus
Hello Kavita
Credit:Josh Barrett
Here’s a tip: if you have been trying to mash together your John Denver album with your Death Cab For Cutie disc cause you love both and want to listen to them at the same time it’s not going to work. Enter Hello Kavita. Self-proclaimed as “modern ‘70s” music, this is the kind of band that just makes you feel happy. Mellow lyrics backed by smooth-flowing, yet upbeat indie-rock melodies. And don’t forget the ‘70s part. Elements of songs like “Sunday (It’s a Chrome Tide)” will certainly make you think of The Who; and other songs incorporate that ‘70s-sounding organ we all might have heard emanating from old vinyl at some point. This is the kind of music that will make you want to road trip, bad. Maybe that’s why these guys are touring maniacs.
The band has toured extensively all over the West Coast and is about to embark on another tour throughout the Midwest. They have also played some pretty big gigs with bands like The Flobots, Band of Horses and Sea Wolf. Don’t be surprised if you see these guys on a big-ticket show sometime soon.
http://denver.metromix.com/music/essay_photo_gallery/from-the-van-to/1724323/content
Westword - Movers and Shakers
Keeping up with everything that’s been released locally over the past twelve months is a daunting task, but one we relish, thanks to albums like the ones listed below, the Backbeat writers’ favorites from 2009. As always, there was quite a bit of crossover, with several albums appearing on multiple lists, including Pictureplane’s Dark Rift, Gregory Alan Isakov’s This Empty Northern Hemisphere, Hello Kavita’s To a Loved One, various installments of Houses’ seasonal EPs and Moonspeed’s Flowers of the Moon. Keep reading to see what else mooved us this year. For more write-ups, visit backbeatblog.com. — Dave Herrera
Hello Kavita, To a Loved One (Self-released). Recorded entirely in analog on two-inch tape, To a Loved One is a warm reminder of a bygone era when songwriting trumped pageantry and AM radio reigned supreme. Tastefully ornate — with pulsing bass lines and vibrant guitars fleshed out by shimmering rhodes, gently swelling strings, lush horns and pedal steel — this is Hello Kavita’s masterpiece. — Herrera
Westword-"To A Loved One" Review
It’s not often that you encounter an instantly satisfying record that also rewards repeated listens. Hello Kavita’s sophomore effort blows in like a lost 1972 Flying Burrito Brothers record, tumbling across the California desert. The seductively spare ten-song collection has the polish and professionalism you’d expect from such seasoned players. But it’s the tarnished spots — the blemishes and cracks, scratches and rust — that reveal the record’s dark, dusty soul and make it thoroughly addictive. From the chipper lilt of “Light Up in the Blue” to the Zen-like resignation of “The Last Time” and the wistful longing of “Colorado” (a scintillating, banjo-speckled reinterpretation of a Kavita standard, “Pensacola”), To a Loved One plays like a topographically accurate map of the human heart, with all its peaks, valleys and fascinating bumps.
http://www.westword.com/2009-10-22/music/hello-kavita/
