We Speak Music
Konrad Kinard’s ‘War Is Family’ Is A Cold War Odyssey in Sound
War Is Family situates Konrad Kinard at the intersection of memory, myth, and sonic experimentation. The Texas-born composer blends spoken word, field recordings, and layered instrumentation into a sprawling, twenty-track album that reads as both memoir and performance art. It is an audacious work, a “radio drama without the drama or the radio,” that navigates the anxieties of a generation raised under the Cold War while never losing sight of its deeply personal core.
Kinard’s collaborative approach adds rich texture to the album. BJ Cole’s pedal steel glides alongside the mournful resonance of cellists Eleonora Rosca, Emily Burridge, and Matthias Hejlik, while harmonium, contrabass, and rhythmic tap interjections create a dynamic, otherworldly soundscape. Each track feels like a miniature vignette, from the tense paranoia of “The Bomb Shelter” to the surreal whimsy of “Siddhartha Goes To Alabama”, revealing Kinard’s knack for constructing both narrative and atmosphere through sound.
What makes War Is Family compelling is its refusal to adhere to genre conventions. Kinard seamlessly blends Americana, experimental, and avant-garde textures into a cohesive whole, giving the listener a sense of immersion and introspection. The album’s emotional weight is matched by its sonic inventiveness, producing a listening experience that is as intellectually stimulating as it is viscerally affecting. Kinard’s exploration of cultural and familial anxieties is profound, resulting in one of the year’s most ambitious and haunting releases.
It is easy to see why a songwriter might be drawn to a story like this. Relationships rarely finish as neatly as people would like, and the space between “it is over” and “maybe we should try again” can produce plenty of material. For Dysmusia, that space becomes the setting for latest single “In your eyes”, out now through Now Listen.
The Irish singer-songwriter has a knack for keeping his writing close to everyday life, and this track benefits from that approach. He looks at an old relationship that has already gone through several attempts at making things work, then focuses on what happens when those feelings start creeping back in.
What makes the song appealing is the balance between sincerity and a lighter touch. Dysmusia is clearly invested in the situation, but he does not turn every moment into a grand declaration. There is room for a bit of humour and hesitation along the way, which keeps the song feeling natural.
The arrangement gives the song a pleasing lift. Acoustic guitar sits at the heart of it, with the dropped tuning adding some richness and a second guitar bringing extra colour. The result has folk at its core but carries enough indie-rock influence to give it a little extra punch.
Dysmusia’s Irish background is another part of the picture. Based between Antrim and Dublin and coming from a musical family, he has developed a style that puts storytelling alongside contemporary guitar sounds.
“In your eyes” brings those influences together without making a fuss about them. It is a personable, melodic track about feelings that refuse to follow a neat timetable, delivered with enough warmth to make the story easy to get behind.
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