Southern California artist and songwriter Andy Ks pours vulnerability and intimacy into the rawness of acoustic rock, with his uniquely evocative, performative and memorable Life’s Sweet Caress.
Featuring a simple musical set-up of guitar, vocals, and a few rhythmic hits from live drums, Life’s Sweet Caress features cascading and intertwining voices that rain down throughout this poetic and boldly personal exploration of longing. That dramatic performance approach is key to the Andy Ks sound, a stripped-back style both distinct and fearlessly in tune with the emotional depth and honesty of the lyrics.
The sound is both dark and deeply moving, unconfined by expectation nor structural simplicity, but instead emerging almost like a free-flowing expression of desire and disconnection.
Coming in at a fairly standard three-thirteen, the make-up and concept of Life’s Sweet Caress is decidedly familiar, but the vocal stylings, the meandering and often unpredictable melody, leans somewhat towards the freedom and piercing artistry of acts like Asaf Avidan. It’s nostalgic in this haunting, soft rock setting, but kept contemporary and original by the lyrics and the defiant ache of the leading voice.
Andy Ks creates from the heart, carves out a fresh lane in the process, and connects for his sheer willingness to delve whole-heartedly into the uncertainties and complexities of being.
