Invoking Ben Folds’ name every time an indie pop/rock group makes the piano the centerpiece of their sound has become something of a cliché (unless you do it anecdotally like I just did). The latest outfit to inspire inclusion in the Folds is the Kyle Mann Combo, a Chicago-area trio with a lot more than indie piano pop in the musical arsenal. On the Combo’s debut album, Goodbye Kites, they exhibit enough slice-of-life lyrical quirkiness and oddball pop arranging skills to justify the Folds references. Obvious departures include pianist Mann’s dual purpose role as occasional guitarist and a tendency toward more jazz, prog and classically slanted arrangements within their basic pop structure. Of particular note are the Raymond Scott-tinged interlude in the midst of “Off My Shoulder,” the Burt Bacharach/Bill Evans/Bach run in “What is Fear?, and the Russian prog samba mania of “Lyrical Rhapsody for the Cell Phone Abusers.” If Ben and the Five had been this far-reaching in their early days, they might have stayed interested and stuck around longer. With this kind of pace and diversity, the Kyle Mann Combo could easily attain the longevity and evolution that eluded their predecessors.
Brian Baker
