Canadian alternative singer-songwriter KYTLY, released her debut album ‘Detours and Exits’ on April 14, 2023, via all streaming platforms.
SWOMP’s Dana Haggith caught up with Laura Keightley, also known as KYTLY, for an interview. Listen, below:
Raw and unapologetic, the new album is an uncompromising examination of broken promises, bitter endings, and new beginnings.
It speaks to the clarity KYTLY felt in choosing the path that led her back to deciding to make the record she’d planned for years.
Recorded remotely throughout 2021, and produced by Los Angeles-based producer and Fountains of Wayne drummer Brian Young (Jesus and Mary Chain, The Posies, Gutter Twins), Detours and Exits focuses on the challenges and joys of starting over.
“The pandemic took life, love, and jobs. Everyone had to slow down, look in the mirror and question everything around them. It was like sorting through the weight of your belongings and editing what had meaning and value,” said KYTLY.
“My values did not align and my whole trajectory of what was ahead didn’t appeal. I think as a culture we forget to trust our instincts. We project, we plan, we put up blinders and look for hope. That’s what my songs are about. I faced the storm head-on and had no expectations of where this journey of Detours and Exits would go. It was slow and was explorative. Every month was a new beginning, a lesson on how to love yourself and be loved.”
Detours and Exits features a talented roster of veteran players, including guitarists Jody Porter (Fountains Of Wayne) and Jon Skibic (Afghan Whigs), bassist Mark Crozer (Jesus And Mary Chain) and multi-instrumentalist JK Harrison (Brian Wilson).
The personal album highlights the necessity of strength for growth and self-realization as displayed in singles, “Begin Again,” an indie-rock fuelled confessional, and “Not The Jealous Type,” a slow-burning, post-breakup song that reminds us that we can’t control everything, and that’s okay.
It will also feature highly evocative tracks like “Whiskey Kisses” and “Undercovers,” in contrast to the deliberate and lush orchestral vibe of the song “Neverending”.
KYTLY also recently released the music video for “Neverending,” directed by award-winning director and writer, Virginia Abramovich.
“This track is one of my favourites, the first song I finished in this compilation. Slow like honey, its thickening this fog around us… hypnotic layering of instrumentation, like a snow blizzard, almost a Romeo and Juliet tale of love that can never be; a divide, a longing for more, a feeling ‘neverending’,” said KYTLY.
KYTLY has been pursuing possibilities since moving from England to Canada and after discovering her love for music and writing songs, one band led to another until she formed The Caraways.
The short-lived indie-rock band split up, and KYTLY began to plan her solo album while attending film school.
She started a career as a designer on TV and film productions doing art direction and decorating, but never lost her musical sense of direction.
The Hamilton-based artist has returned to display her own brand of strength and resilience as she continues to demonstrate her willingness to reinvent herself and make hard decisions to find the right path forward.
Detours and Exits Track Listing
1. Begin Again
2. Not The Jealous Type
3. Phoenix
4. Days In And Out
5. Ferns
6. Undercovers
7. Whiskey Kisses
8. Neverending
9. Snowfall
10. Without You
For more details on KYTLY, click here.
