New Artist: Kris Korey

By Kai Shuart

Kris Korey’s interest in music—and making music—began at an early age; he wrote his first song at age seven. He started playing drums in his high school music class and soon branched out into playing with other local bands, touring around Ontario until 2006. From there, Kris picked up the electric guitar and started writing songs, taking voice lessons, and even recorded some home demos on an 8-track. In 2010, Kris recorded a couple of songs with Canadian producer Chris Perry which he intends to release on a full-length release titled Class Act.

The first of these, “Runaround”, has a lot of potential. It has a Killers-like feel. Synths integrate seamlessly with electric guitars in a catchy arrangement built around a solid hook that speaks of someone who knows what to do to make people dance to his music.

The only slight distraction from this song’s great music was the vocals. Plenty of vocalists I love, such as Suzanne Vega, sing in a direct way with little or no vibrato, as does Mr. Korey. However, at a couple points there were audible catch-breaths, which left him sounding like he was trying to keep up with the band and distracted me from wanting to go on the dance floor, so to speak. Also, there’s a section of inaudible whispering that also stopped me from enjoying the song as much as I might have. If there’s speaking in a song, I want to hear what you have to say!

The second song, “Never Enough”, is in a similar vein sonically as “Runaround,” but I found myself enjoying it significantly more. The synth/guitar combo is bolstered by a somewhat more organic-sounding rhythm, giving the song a healthy backbone. The vocals are much more confident than in the previous song, which had a huge effect on my listening experience. I honestly found myself tapping along, humming, and having a good time.

I honestly enjoyed these two tracks and certainly look forward to more from Kris Korey.

Be sure to check out “Runaround” and “Never Enough” on Kris Korey’s Facebook page. You can purchase the tracks on iTunes.