Milwaukee’s Kyle Feerick identifies the music on his second album, Heart, as folk rock, but if that’s the case, the music ain’t what it used to be. Feerick’s tenor singing—somewhere in tone between ’70s singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop and Al Wilson of ’60s blues disciples Canned Heat—tops an assortment of acoustic goings-on indebted to folk, but with expansive melodies and arrangements that bespeak Bon Iver and Iron & Wine on his listening menu. More intriguing still are occasional undercurrents of reggae, jazzy R&B à la Bobby Caldwell and Gerry Rafferty’s brand of sax-spiked prog pop. The eclectic, though cohesive sonic potpourri swirls in service to earnest, gently pleading lyrics. With his previous album clocking in at only eight cuts and Heart at nine, the next challenge for Feerick may be to go even longer with his diverse approach.
