The Record Equivalent of a Crashout: Kyle & The 8-Minute Miles' Debut Release

Hands down an easy recommendation. The overall garage rock, grunge and gitty flair heavily carries throughout all ten tracks of this self-titled debut album, making Kyle & The 8-Minute Miles quite literally every angsty teenager’s dream record.

Starting everyone off with “Despair”, which immediately deems perfect for people stuck in their coming of age, or someone who’s just crashing out — it’s raw yet concise; blunt, yet the skill is still prominent with how everything sounds. To be frank, it sounds awesomely stubborn, making it seem like the epitome of garage, alternative/indie rock.

“I’ve got a lot of brains but not much pride” is the first of many lines that imprints themselves in mind, representing every burnt out, gifted kid, how creativity among youth is undermined or restricted to a socially acceptable style. The point is, it’s relatable, not hidden away within imagery and metaphor, but just blatantly speaking what comes to mind; sometimes that’s all you need.

Also emitting a punk rock vibe, “That’s My Story (And I’m Sticking To It)” comes next, and the long titles are really hitting the spot here – this one talks about the self and how the narrator is like as a person, almost coercing the listener to tell them who they are as they’ve told them who he is. “Complicated” contains catchy rhymes, with words that come off as well-constructed rambles and brainfarts, making the song title check out. It’s also about finding self-worth despite the amount of self-deprecation evident between the lines.

The bassline in “Head On Straight” compliments the melodies really well, the type that tickles a part of your brain in a certain way. “And even staring at my empty wall where you used to be / an onslaught of paranoia and unwanted memories”, this song talks about the realization of needing to get their life back on track, despite still hurting; there’s a distinct differentiation between the heart and head as well.

“Drug Song!” and “***ANTI-WEED PSA** *” is exactly what they sound like, acting as a short break from creating comprehensible pieces by playing with instruments and literally screaming into the microphone. Tracks like these, as unserious as they are, add personality and endearment to the album as a whole and what kind of band Kyle & The 8-Minute Miles is.

Personally, the last few songs capture the essence of what being young and being able to think about anything is all about. “Trampoline” starts with a funny yet smart line of “I had another dream in the key of G / now that’s originality” as it seemingly really does start with the key of G. Vocals are extra distorted in this one, and the instrumentals are chaotically good. It feels like a perspective from someone in rock bottom, in a limbo of being in rock bottom, taking time to feel emotions before moving on with life.

From the relatability of the lyrics in “In My Dreams”, someone would just headbang to it because they just… get it. “I’ll find comfort in my grief / then let the anger blanket me”, “and it wouldn’t take much at all / if you gave me a call”, “and I’d rather gut my stomach clean / than see your name flash on my screen”, it’s all contradictory, but that’s exactly the point: the feeling of wanting and not wanting, how emotions significantly sway how people think — there’s not much to say other than how amazing this song is.

“Nobody Hates Me (Like I Do)” is a fun one with punk vibes as well, from pacing to chord progressions. It’s like proving that ‘aha, you can’t hate me more than I do’. It traces back to the theme of self-deprecation and doubt; someone who is not quite reaching their fullest potential.

The album ends with “The Times”, a song that reminisces on better days, and the question of why they pretend; are all the good times a lie just because they were pretending at the time? “My brain is numb as fuck / but still I see a clear road straight ahead” is another favorite line, because it couldn’t get any realer than that, as well as “remember when we felt alive / and didn’t spend all day in bed”.

Honestly, this self-titled debut has a sense of familiarity, in terms of having certain aspects to it acting as a reminder of what other creatives the band is probably influenced by. Having already recommended it to a couple friends as we speak, this one’s definitely a hit rather than a miss.