Kylie Fox - Sequoia (2024) Hi-Res

This interesting showcase is a little more sublime & haunting than most material released today. Kylie doesn’t come across as eccentric or strange, but she has a precise manner about how she frames her music & lyrics. The band isn’t as laid back as sounding as if they’re playing in another era entirely. It has a nice nostalgic melodic stirring expressive distinction that shapes “Sequoia,” the title track. It’s almost majestic but it holds back with finesse. Nice arrangement.

It’s obvious Ms. Fox has developed a style that works for her but it’s the material that’s intriguing not the recording. She should use fewer vocal treatments & allow her natural haunting vocal to add the magic. “Brandi Baby,” is commercial enough in structure yet the interplay is so inspired.

The instrumentation on this, her 2nd album is always creative & arousing. The 12 branches of Sequoia loom large & were written by Kylie (acoustic guitar/piano/vocals) & produced by Daniel Ledwell (trumpet/guitar/pedal steel).

There’s lots to recommend & some pieces have reminded me of an Italian female rocker Francesca Chiara. Her 1998 American Sony concept LP “Il Parco Dei Sogni,” (“The Park of Dreams”) is equally mesmerizing, dark & dynamic lyrically & vocally in the same tradition as Kylie.

As this set gets deeper into the songs the performances get more daring & evocative. The tune “Ming Mei,” even has a Euro-tint arrangement. I like the vocal intonation, phrasing & range on many songs. Never a dull moment. Each song is transformative. This is partially because it isn’t the type of music heard on commercial radio. But it does have mainstream appeal.

Ms. Fox is from Canada & her fusion of folky elements & jazz flavors is what gives her songs lift. Some writers compare Ms. Fox to Joni Mitchell but I’d compare her to Joni only from a creative perspective & not a material one. Mitchell’s rooted elsewhere in the forest & has a more poetic lyrical “out on the road” folky-jazz persona whereas Kylie encompasses vistas.

There are suggestions of vocal stylizations that would include the late Laura Nyro, Kate Bush (Kylie’s elaborate “Flying Dreams”) & the more avant-garde Laurie Anderson rather than today’s modern female vocalists who were certainly inspired by artists such as these. What’s evident are the beauties of Kyle’s balladry. Found in “Alberta,” where Ms. Fox can get wonderfully sensitive & dip into a lullaby reserve. Closing the LP are “Ali’s Wedding” (very Laura Nyro-like) & “Certain.” All good.