Hailing from a tiny town in Louisiana, Kyle Craft isn’t the most obvious character to reinvent himself as a silver-haired glam desperado, but inspiration struck after he found a David Bowie album in K-Mart. Thus, this unlikely but brilliant debut hurls together Craft’s Dylan-meets-Brett Anderson holler with rollicking ragtime stomp, reminiscent of vintage Cockney Rebel or early Suede. The instantly singable likes of Berlin and Lady of the Ark are peopled by “girls and ghosts” from Craft’s hometown of Shreveport – burlesque dancers, vampires, “midnight boys” and “jackknife queens” – each depicted with a mix of empathy, humour and occasional savagery. And behind these tragicomic nightlife tales is a top-notch songwriter who has been fired by the sting of romantic betrayal. Three Candles has a particularly Springsteenesque magnificence as Craft races away from heartbreak – “Four to the floor / A stain on my jeans / 300 miles between me and Orleans” – towards what should be a glittering future.
