A singer and songwriter based in Portland, indie rocker
Kyle Craft brings a robust, full-throated wail to his knack for pairing
Stones-ian hooks and
Dylan-esque wordplay with glam-kissed pop swagger. He made his full-length debut with 2016's
Dolls of Highland. In 2019, his third album,
Showboat Honey, referenced the nickname for his steady backing band.
A native of Shreveport, Louisiana,
Craft came to music in his early teens via a chance K-Mart-purchased
David Bowie compilation. He later grabbed his guitar and whatever else he could carry, and relocated to the bustling music hub of Portland shortly after the dissolution of an eight-year relationship. Determined to channel his heartache into pure rock & roll, he began making demos and putting together what would eventually become his debut album. Returning home to Shreveport to lay down tracks on a D.I.Y. rig, he eventually fled back West, where he got some assistance from
Brandon Summers and
Benjamin Weikel of
Helio Sequence in tweaking the mixes. The songs caught the ear of Sub Pop, which soon signed
Craft. His debut LP for the label,
Dolls of Highland, was released in April 2016. After recording the follow-up in a professional studio,
Craft home-recorded a version of
Jenny Lewis' "Acid Tongue" for fun. It quickly turned into
Girl Crazy, a collection of five two-track singles covering some of his favorite female singers, including
Patti Smith,
Patsy Cline, and
St. Vincent. His official second album,
Full Circle Nightmare, arrived on Sub Pop in early 2018. An equally rambunctious outing, it was recorded live in the studio with his band and producer
Chris Funk of
the Decemberists. With his band having solidified to include lead guitarist Jeremy Kale, keyboardist Kevin Clark, bass player Billy Slater, drummer Haven Multz, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Steinmetz,
Craft named his third album,
Showboat Honey, in their honor. Recorded and produced by
Craft, Clark, and Slater, it saw release in mid-2019, also on Sub Pop. ~ James Christopher Monger