KYZR – “Find Your Way” Feat. Erik Frisberg

KYZR – “Find Your Way” Feat. Erik Frisberg – Single Review

Hmm…

I feel like I’m coming up with more of a mixed reaction to this new single from KYZR, which in itself is fairly surprising given my track record of enjoying the majority of what’s come my way from this duo throughout the years.  It happens to the best of us though…no matter how hard we might try, there are natural peaks and valleys to be found on the inside of every career you could ever examine up close underneath the microscope.  As both consumers and critics, we like what we like and we love what we love…all we can do is be as objective as possible in delivering an opinion, because it’s pretty much a given that our personal taste is always going to threaten to get in the way.  It’s in knowing that, that I can tell ya straight off the drop that “Find Your Way” still sounds fantastic, still holds true to the high standards that Marcel and Stefan of KYZR set for themselves & their music, and is still going to have no problem at all appealing to a large percentage of their established audience.  Heck, I’ll even take it a step further and say that this single has the potential to draw in new fans that weren’t already listening!

And that’s always a good thing, ain’t it?

So…look.  If I’m being objective about what I’m listening to, then it’s easy to acknowledge how well-made a song like “Find Your Way” is, because that’s the reality here.  I’m also willing to accept the fact that “Find Your Way” is the third single from their upcoming album called Beauty Comes Crashing Down – and I’d be the first to tell ya that context can always play a significant role in how we listen to music.  As in, if “Find Your Way” is merely a piece of a much larger story, then of course the supporting details found in other songs could possibly enhance how much we like this single and how we feel about it overall.  Not tough to imagine – if you have just a piece of a puzzle, are you going to enjoy looking at that more than you would the full picture in the end?  Doubtful, right?  So I take everything I listen to with a grain of salt when I know a song is coming to us in advance of the rest of the record.  I sincerely enjoyed the last song I reviewed by KYZR, called “This Time It’s Real” and felt like they really displayed a whole plethora of evocative, single-worthy hooks and melodies in that tune.  As far as “Find Your Way” is concerned, don’t get me wrong, I feel like it still has appeal to it, and I still feel like there are hooks that could certainly pull people in to listen as well.  I suppose where I feel like there is some risk being taken here, or where perhaps KYZR is morphing their sound & style in the course of their own evolution, is that I’d reckon a song like “Find Your Way” actually appeals to a whole different facet of music really.

Why I say context matters, is simply because it does with every story.  Even in the larger scope of things, “Find Your Way” was more surprising to me as I was listening, because I typically know KYZR to be a very art-central project at the heart of what they do, and this particular single seemed a little bare-bones in that regard without having the rest of the context to the story to fully support it, or even some artwork that we’ve yet to see.  You can look back on what KYZR’s achieved with their art & music in the past, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about…they typically draw on our imagination, our sense of wonder, our relatable emotions, and our curiosity with respect to art…and I suppose it feels like “Find Your Way” seems to be a bit removed from those goals, a lil’ more dialed back, and dare I say, *gulp, more ‘normal.’  Like I said at the start, that doesn’t make it bad to listen to, just a bit surprising when you know a little about the way they’ve released music in the past, or how enticing they’ve been able to be.  Basically, I look at it like this – “Find Your Way” illuminates the difference between what they’ve created previously in the Pop realm, and starts shifting their sound dangerously close to what you’d consider to be Adult Contemporary.  Therein lies the conundrum!  Don’t get me wrong, there is a TON of great money to be made by appealing to the Adult Contemporary crowd – they are ALWAYS looking for something new to listen to and a new champion for their easygoing genre…but it’s rarely where you’d find true ART like we know KYZR genuinely enjoys making.  So you see what I’m saying?  Just because they’ve mellowed out their sound even further doesn’t mean that a move like that doesn’t come with a whole lot of risk – it actually does.  If we’re talking about the merits of a song, or the cohesion of its writing, or the level of professionalism that you’ll hear from start to finish, I don’t think there are many, if any, points you could really take away from KYZR based on what you’ll hear in “Find Your Way” – this becomes more about discerning what kind of band they wanna be and the kind of playlists they wanna find their music upon.

I think most folks out there, whether they’ll admit it or not, always have time for a great Pop song.  Where things can narrow the whole audience a lot more though, is when you end up missing that identifiable, inspired spark that traditionally fuels the entire genre, and you come out with something that’s so laidback and mellow that it’ll get you played in an elevator or a dentist’s office.  Like I said, there is fantastic money to be made by going in that direction, but it would be a stranger choice for a duo like KYZR that has made such extraordinary statements with their art & music combined in the past.

So you betcha…I’m advising some caution here to KYZR…Pop naturally drifts into Adult Contemporary if you’re not keeping a close eye/ear on it…but personally, I think they’ve got a whole lot more to offer than what that genre typically allows for.  “Find Your Way” is sweet, there’s no doubt about that – but we do feel the absence of that audible reason to be excited about it, or that reason to return that KYZR has so generously provided throughout the bulk of their catalog to-date.  Essentially, “Find Your Way” isn’t going to be the kind of song anyone will get up off their chair to cross the room and turn off – but it’s equally hard to conceive that it’s the kind of song that anyone will get up off their chair to cross the room and turn it UP too, you know what I mean?  It’s pleasantly enjoyable…but that seems to work both for and against this single.  I don’t know that I’d say it’s Erik’s strongest performance, but he sings it well enough…and it’s played/produced well by KYZR too – but it does worry me that “Find Your Way” could find its way to being in the background of other activities, rather than really commanding the spotlight & captivating its audience like their previous material has done so often.  I always challenge those out there I know of being capable of more, to DO more…and I think I’ve gotta go in that direction with this particular single.  “Find Your Way” is a good song, but KYZR has proven to be capable of greatness, and I feel like the best thing we can do for them as supporters is to point that out & hold them accountable to the incredible standards they’ve set in the past, so they can keep on pushing their music forward.

Find out more about KYZR from their official website at:  https://www.kyzrmusic.com

DO NOT READ THIS MESSAGE unless you want to know how you could be the next up on our pages at sleepingbagstudios by clicking here!