" WORLD OF BEAUTY " TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2007 ON NPR RADIO
This is the second album by Vancouver-based songwriter/painter Kevin House, and in it he manages a difficult thing: plainspoken musical eloquence. His unpretentious singing is set in carefully considered but un-fussy arrangements,
and the songs sound satisfyingly deep, true and comfortable.
DAVID GARLAND - SPINNING ON AIR - WNYC - NPR RADIOGEORGIA STRAIGHT / Top 10 of 2007THE IRISH TIMES Kevin House World of Beauty - 4 out of 5 stars
DEC 2007MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS / 4 out of 5 stars DEC 7TH 2007
KEVIN HOUSE " WORLD OF BEAUTY"
" An assuming masterpiece of an album "AMERICANA U.K / 7 out of 10
" A deceptively seductive record "UNCUT MAGAZINE , U.K / MARCH 2008
Vancouver based painter/troubadour strips everything down to bare acoustics
on second album World Of Beauty . Understated lovely picking with the
subtlest of embellishments , songs like " Down river " and " All the planets all
the stars " are gems delivered with all the disarming grace of Nick Drake or
John Fahey.MUSICNEWS.COM 4 out of 5 stars / DEC 2007
" This is an enormously rewarding album on many levels "SUBBACULCHA.COM U.K Dec 2007
"A World of Beauty on one record. Relaxing, accessible
and beautifully arranged, Kevin House has crafted a
follow-up to be lauded by all those with ears "NETRHYTHMS.CO.UK Dec 2007
Kevin House - World of Beauty
" a glistening, inspirational masterstroke of sound-
and word-painting "MUSICOMH.COM U.K 4 out of 5 stars / Dec 2007
Kevin House - World Of Beauty
"If you like your music clever, soft and distinctly
sinister (albeit in a rather beautiful way) then Kevin
House is definitely someone to check out "
Fiona JeromeGEORGIA STRAIGHT Canada 2007
"A deliberate nod to the singer-songwriter classics of
the early 1970s, to the seminal works of Joni
Mitchell, Nick Drake, John Martyn, and Judee Sill "
Alex VartyFollowing the critically aclaimed 2004 debut "Gutter pastoral"
Kevin House “ World Of Beauty†was released April 10th 2007 in Canada and the U.S , May Australia , and November in the U.K & the rest of Europe.
Duality is a word that seemed to come up in reviews of “Gutter Pastoral “ often. Musically, lyrically, and visually this also seems to hold true for “World of Beauty. Only with more fully realized and intimate arrangements.
Recorded live off the floor in classic 70"s songwriter style with few edits and
restrained but tasteful contributions from some of the finest jazz musicians
"on the west coast.
If there were some forgotten Delta where the chanson and folk blues traditions congregated it might sound something like this.
Like minature one act plays set to music…songs like little landscape paintings , …harmony and dissonance…clouds and stones…
The Songs are inhabited once again by disappearing people,
Strange journeys down twilight rivers ,Gramaphone hearts and carnival folks. Wrapped in a
Seductive backdrop of open tuned fingerpicked guitar, upright bass, drums, trumpet,strings, and piano, these songs are never grand statements ( the world has enough of those) but small victories ducumenting lifes fragilitys, joys, and sorrows.
:A makeout album for weirdoâ€s ? yes, in the best possible way.
:Chanson symphonies for late night consumption…
:Headphone lullabys for apparitions and departure heroes …
With drummer Skye Brooks( Co- Pilots, Inhabitants), Mike Derrick on Guitar and Piano, J.P carter on trumpet(Carsick, Tony Wilson),Russell sholberg on upright bass(Tony Wilson), and special guests Jesse Zubot(Zubot and Dawson,Fond of Tigers,Kelly joel Phelps ) on violin orchestrations,
Ida Nilsen ( Great Aunt Ida, Buttless Chaps,Waterboys)on piano and voice, Paul Rigby (Neko Case,Garth Hudson) on guitar and pedal steel, and John Raham ( Be good Tanyas, Po Girl) Engineering and mixing.
Kevin House has shared the stage with Gillian Welch, Mercury Rev, Evan Dando,
Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, Nora Jones, Keren Ann , James Hunter, Elvis Perkins and many others.
"World of Beauty." With this new one you've managed a
lovely balance of approachable sound, depth of feeling, and personal
vision.
"DAVID GARLAND / NPR N.Y
/
/
/Understated, impressionistic...evocative...
" THE VILLAGE VOICE"
House has created
a rural folk masterpiece: a sparse, lonely collection of dreams
and fears.
"DALLAS OBSERVER"
" On his debut album, House crafts songs like aural shadowboxes,
filled with simple yet telling details about the subjects of the hushed and intimate storysongs"
AMPLIFIER MAGAZINE U.S.A/
Kevin House is both a painter and a musician.He was born in England and raised in Canada and the U.S. He started his painting career in New York City, when down to a few dollars in his pocket he found a roll of canvas and literally painted to cover his rent, selling his work on the street. House is schooled in the school of the unschooled and trained by no one in particular. His work has been shown throughout the U.S and Canada and has been featured in Canada"s National Post, Bark magazine, Elle Canada,and featured on the discovery channel documentary "Sideshow of the stars" which aired in 2006.House views his banner work as being part of the sideshow painting tradition. While working within this form House has painted boxers , animals, dead french poets, sideshow performers, and other oddities in the tradition of sideshow banners.
Lately he has been working on "Based on a true story" documenting the lives
of 5 imaginary (or real ?) folks in letters, photographs, minatures , recordings,
and paintings. This museum like show will proceed forever , or as long as new information and artifacts surface with the help of fellow historians of dubious distinction.
His other new work is paintings on 78 records which seem to be some sort of
idols worshipped by tribes from a mysterious and exotic island named Recordland.
folk art deco perhaps?
Kevin House"s work is in the collections of Famed british actor Malcolm Mcdowell,
Last Gasp publisher Ron Turner , Geek Love author Kathrine Dunn, Magician
actor and comedian Harry anderson , C.B.C personality Bill Richardson, Author
photographer and curator Mark Sloan among many others. Please visit his site
for more info and images of the work. www.kevinhouse.ca
