It's been about a year now since Danny Hartley (The Kite String Tangle) quietly released his first single, but ever since that track hit the internet, there was really no going back. The song in question is called "Given The Chance", and if your finger has even so much as brushed over the pulse of Australian music recently, then the piece of sonic gold needs no introduction. With an amount of plays on the internet well into the seven-figures, the quiet beauty of Danny Hartley's production work wowed music junkies of all sorts; and if you've ever heard the song, we'd be willing to bet that you'll still remember the way its epic chorus burned its way into your ear canals with its larger-than-life synths and lighter-than-air texture work. Then, after "Given The Chance" finished making TKST fans out of pretty much everybody, Danny put out a rather shrewd cover of Ella Yelich-O'Connor's (Lorde's) hit single, "Tennis Court", and it just like that, The Kite String Tangle was all the rage with the kids all over again. Granted, we're not talking about Miley Cyrus-levels of internet dissemination here, but as far as up-and coming names go, it's hard to imagine that Danny could have had a more successful start to his solo career. The cover showed everybody that he was able to use his particular style of soft edged indie in various guises, and even if the track was just a rework of Lorde's already stellar original, it put to bed any doubts that this guy had just as much substance as he did hype. With those two hits out of the way, though, we now get to enjoy the much-anticipated six-track EP, Vessel, in all its glory; and after giving it a thorough listen, we're happy to report that it's everything you hoped it would be after hearing his music for the first time. "Given The Chance" made the cut, as well as his other lead-off single, "Arcadia", and while they are both amazing songs, it's the new material that really shines. This is something we're quite happy about, too, because with the bar having been set so high, it would have been easy for the meat of the EP to fall short. That's not the case, though, and it surely holds its own with an effortless style displayed on songs like "What If" and "Words". Hartley's work shifts between a unique take on IDM, and the kind of dance-floor anthems that everybody loves, but he never forgets that it's the sheer size of his sound that got people excited in the first place, and so he stays true to his roots. "What If" and "Stone Cold" feature this balancing act perfectly, and are the perfect ways to get introduced to the rest of the project. For only having six tracks, Vessel is actually quite an ambitious project, but Danny has kept everything in check, and the finished work is something you'll enjoy for years over. Vessel is available on iTunes now (Australia only). The UK, USA, CAN release date will be August 12th.
The Kite String Tangle