By Brittany Snow

Staff Writer

5 Stars

On Friday, May 18, Kyle Thomas Harvey, otherwise known as Kyle released his newest album “Light of Mine.” It includes 11 songs, four of which were released previously as singles before being included into the album. The singles shined on their own, but now being apart of the album, they come together perfectly and make the perfect album.

The album focuses on overcoming life’s obstacles, as writing it helped him overcome some obstacles of his own. He previously struggled with anxiety and depression but he has learned how to take control of them so that he can live a normal life.

“Light of Mine” is his best album by far, as it combines all his musical talents. He includes songs with a slower tempo, as well as a few songs where it is just a continuous buoyant beat.

Immediately, I fell in love with “Playinwitme,” featuring Kehlani which was released previously as a single. I listened to it for hours on end. The beat of the song was smooth but enjoyable. Unlike his other songs, it was a refreshing change as he kept it slow and steady but still upbeat and catchy. When it was released, I was happy to hear the difference between this single and his others. It was upbeat and cheery, which made me even happier because it was really smooth without the intense lyrics that the normally has.

“iSpy,” featuring Lil Yachty is one of the most known songs of the album, since it was released in December 2016. It is still very enjoyable to listen to, and it will forever be a memorable song, due to his repetitive and indelible lyrics.

Although these tracks were amazing, my favorite of the album has to be “Games.” The song is astounding as his lyrics and the beat mix together perfectly. He starts off the song with a small rap, then changes up the beat to start his verse. This continues throughout the song as he switches from singing to rap.

Songs such as “Coming, Going?,” “It’s Yours,” and “ShipTrip” experiment with slower beats and rhythms, which was a soothing change from the rest of the album. His songs normally include singing and rapping parts, but he included several speaking parts in these tracks which changed the tone of the songs, in a pleasant and appealing way.

Each songs varied in both sound and style. He had included songs that had faster lyrics than the beat, but managed to do it well, Other songs had a faster rhythm but slower and calmer lyrics.    

Every song in the album seems as though they are an experiment. “Clouds” is slow and steady but is still full of lyrics that could capture the listener and pull them in. “To the Moon” is one of those in-between songs as i is not too fast, but not too slow. It still has many memorable lyrics that caught my attention and made the song more enjoyable. One of the lyrics that caught my attention was “Got a landing pad, ain’t no parking space,” referring to his use of helicopters or planes rather than a car. This lyric especially caught my attention because of the way it was delivered and the creativity of the lyric. He had sped up at this particular line, which made it even better. It became the most memorable lyric in the song for me, and I always enjoyed when it came up while listening to the song. The beat was fast, but still had a steady pace as well.

Songs such as “Ikuyo” and “Games” were the faster rhythmed songs that kept a good pace. The two songs were definitely two of the best on the album as they both  differ from the others and vary between each other. The two have different tempos to them, but they both have the same smooth and loose style. Although his other songs are fast-paced, it was refreshing to see that he changed up the way he delivers his verses.

Throughout the album, he included multiple artists, such as Alessia Cara, Kehlani, Khalid, Lil Yachty, and more.

I enjoyed listening to the album, as it fully entices Kyle’s voice and lyric capability. This album has been one of the best of his career I continue to be impressed by his musical talents and choices.