Vonnie Kyle’s latest single, “Something More,” can only be described as epic. It showcases haunting guitar tones reminiscent of 90s Radiohead, Heart-like vocals that sound like they were forged in fire, and lyrics that magnetically beckon to the listener’s imagination. For Portland, Oregon artist Kyle, the inspiration for the new track came from the most unlikely of places.
In 2022, Kyle was working as an events manager at a church in downtown Portland. She worked many Sunday mornings setting up coffee stations, running sound, even ringing the church bell at 10 am as service was starting. “It was never the sort of job I had pictured doing,” says Kyle, “but it was a job. It was flexible and allowed me time to make music. But for a good year and a half there, I was spending time in a church almost every day, whether it was in an office or in the sanctuary. It was a weird life to be living for someone who isn’t exactly religious.”
Later in the year, Kyle contracted covid and self-quarantined for nearly two weeks. “It was the sickest I’ve ever been. Towards the end of my recovery, I wrote Something More. I’d been watching a lot of soapy TV during my quarantine while I was waiting for the ‘fog’ to pass, and in my head I was writing the theme for my own soap opera with a large church at the center of it.”
Something More is certainly nothing short of a cinematic drama, wildly entertaining with some delightful wiggle room left for the listener’s own interpretation. Right out the gate, we’re drawn in with the picturesque line of They say she’s on her way down to her rerun days. “A main character was killed off of my favorite show, and I was so invested that to be honest, I felt a little devastated by it. So I had to make her a character in my weird little imaginary world.”
lyrics
Code, they say
She’s on her way
Down to her rerun days
Six pins, one leg
Break bread and pray
So many fools in one place
It’s the fever in my lungs
Or my escaping tongue has lost its way
He was such a Christian man
And now it’s raining apples on his grave
Hallelujah, give me something more
Give me something more
Give me something more
Those baby blues,
They knock me to the floor
They give me something more
Give me something, something more
More or less awake and dressed
Crying rhinestones that play pianos
Oh, how fast the young ones grow
They find their feet and toes and run away
Love is just an animal
A carnivore that you keep on a chain
Hallelujah, give me something more
Give me something more
Give me something more
Those baby blues,
They knock me to the floor
They give me something more
Give me something, something more
Love is just an animal
A carnivore that wants to get away
Hallelujah, give me something more
Give me something more
Give me something more
Those baby blues,
They knock me to the floor
They give me something more
They give me something
Hallelujah, give me something more
Give me something more
Give me something
Something more
credits
released January 19, 2024
Written and arranged by Vonnie Kyle
Produced by Vonnie Kyle and David Badstubner
Engineered and mixed by David Badstubner
Mastered by Ben Clary
Drum recording by Gabe VanBenschoten
Vonnie Kyle: Vocals, guitar, bass synth
Tim Karplus: Guitar, guitar synth
Bass: David Badstubner
Drums: Kellii Scott
Recorded at Akira Audio (Los Angeles, CA), Anjuna Recording (Portland, OR), The Holladay Inn (Portland, OR)
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