Wren Kitz is a guitarist from Burlington, VT psych-rock quartet Paper Castles. The band is known for their psychedelic roots with pop leanings. Kitz doesn’t stray far from their mainstay sound, but he strips it bare, delicately lacing samples from his found-sound cassette collection and fragile vocals. Kitz’ newest solo full-length, For Evelyn, is due this summer, and the first offering, “Hall Of Lame,” is oh so melancholy and pretty. It opens with long intro that nestles you into Paper Castles sound, then it gets reduced like a delicious sauce. A Sam Cooke-esque guitar riff moves things at a saunter’s pace, leaving plenty of room for full, lush drums, a groovy baseline, and interjections of found sounds. Kitz’s vocals float daintily in the stratosphere above it all, lifting the song into a surreality. Listen below.

Here’s Kitz’s statement about the album:

For Evelyn is a collection of songs and sounds I gathered over the course of a year or so. Most of the music started coming out of an 11 string guitar I got at a yard sale.

My intention with this record was to continue experimenting with recording music to tape with particular interest in building musical structures from field recordings and various cassettes from the archive. Once the songs started taking shape I brought them to some friends in Burlington, VT and Montreal, QC who helped bring the tunes to life with new ideas and instrumentation.
The record was partially recorded to cassette in my shed in VT and partially at Pietro Chango Studio with The Luyas in Montreal.

While making this record I was particularly moved by a cassette letter I dug up recorded for my Grandmother by her best friend Doris. I couldn’t help but use some excerpts from this tape throughout the collection. In the end, her voice and stories pulled it all together for me, enough so that I decided to name it after her cassette.

For Evelyn is out this summer on Section Sign.