Columbus’ The Kyle Sowashes play a brand of tight and catchy Guitar Pop that sounds all too familiar, but is easily likeable, nonetheless. The band — drummer Dan Bandman (that’s really his last name), guitarist Justin Hemminger, bassist Lonn Schubert and the band’s namesake/lyricist/lead singer/guitarist Kyle Sowash — has a laid-back style that’s cool but in no way pretentious. The members are Indie vets recruited from other bands by Sowash and they all have some chops. On the band’s newest release, the superb Nobody, Bandman and Schubert lock in to create a steady backbeat, while Sowash’s chugging rhythm guitar interplays well with Hemminger’s tasteful, show-stealing lead guitar.
Sowash arrived in Columbus by way of Lubbock, Tex., in 2001. He has been a constant on the Columbus music scene ever since. In 2005, when his previous band Tom Foolery and the Mistakes broke up, Sowash started a new project and decided to use his own name (with a twist). Over the past five years he’s released four albums and an EP with an ever-changing lineup, but his humor and eye for the small details of day-to-day life remain a constant.
On Nobody, his subject matter is easily relatable. There are songs about drinking too many PBRs on an empty stomach, being indecisive and having a shitty week. There’s melancholy as well: On “Blast From The Past” he sings about not-so-gracefully growing older (“When did I start being such a dick?/When did we all turn 36?”).
These four bearded dudes are entertaining, but they also have the songs to back it up.
The Kyle Sowashes play the Southgate House Friday. Go here for venue details and tickets.
