The Big Romance (Expanded Edition)

The demo collection Small Moments under his belt, Kitt made a formal debut with The Big Romance, which wisely doesn't attempt to suddenly exchange the rough charm of the earlier collection with a too-polished sound. Accompanied by a variety of regular backing musicians but handling the lion's share of work himself, Kitt creates his own enjoyable spin on lo-fi-meets-lush arrangements, creating his own particular electric-acoustic genre blend without simply imitating Beck, say. David Gray may be the most immediate reference point based on some of his breakthrough work, but that's misleading, as Kitt has a gentler approach. It's little surprise that Kitt toured with bands like Yo La Tengo and Arab Strap based on The Big Romance — there's a similar emphasis towards letting less say a lot more, and Kitt's general undemonstrativeness is a key strength. The folky core of his music suggests a smoother and less melancholy Nick Drake at points, but besides having a higher register, Kitt's ear for electronic percussion, soft keyboards, and unfussy arrangements results in something else entirely: quietly haunting, mesmerizing songs. Even the most traditional sounding songs, like "Step Outside in the Morning Light" and "Strange Light in the Evening" end up with a gently glazed, soft psychedelic feeling that's not too unsettling but is just fine as it is, sometimes achieving surprising. The concluding piano/keyboard part on the former and the treated vocals and backwards guitar on the latter are downright magical. The semi-mantric midsong break of "What I Ask" is another good example, the combination of beats, guitars, and wordless vocals building into a quietly uplifting serenity. Lyrically, Kitt stumbles a bit — there's little that immediately leaps out as being memorable or striking on its own — but given his various other strengths, that's not really a worry at all.