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Kyla Charter, ‘Edible Flowers’ — 3.5/5 stars

ARTS & CULTURE

Alex Braun, staff

3.5/5 stars

Toronto-based singer Kyla Charter has had an illustrious career as a background singer in the CanCon music machine. Her CV reads like a CBC Radio One playlist, performing with artists like July Talk, Patrick Watson, Rich Aucoin and Alessia Cara. Now Charter is stepping out on her own with her debut album Edible Flowers.

Working with production team Safe Spaceship, Charter has built a short but sweet album of woozy, dark tracks, with a heavy dose of neo-soul and J Dilla influence. The eerie, Midsommar-esque painting on the cover hints toward the heavy mood of the album — the tempi sag with dread, the drums stutter and drawl with an uncomfortable unsteadiness and swirls of synths and layered vocals clutter an oppressive mix.

The opener “Doubts” begins a capella with choral-like harmonies, while Charter’s refrain of “I’ve got my doubts” rings out over top, sung soft and meek at first, as if she were whispering in confession. The song progresses sort of aimlessly, but with some interesting twists and turns and fluctuations in intensity as they repeat the refrain over and over.

For such a vocal-focused album, though, Charter doesn’t seem interested in saying a lot, opting instead for vibe music built around simple, repeating phrases or wordless melodies. Charter says this sprouted from a feeling during the tumultuous summer of 2020 of being unable to focus on much more than a single thought at a time.

“Bach To The Future” plays with the titular composer’s counterpoint, intertwining melodies as a long bassline is complicated by layered “ooo” and “aah” vocal lines while another Dilla-esque loose hip-hop groove pounds underneath. “After Party” is a refreshingly bubbly track, with a lively, wordless vocal performance with some charming laughs and impressive runs thrown in.

“Breaking Dishes” is built around a gnarly distorted bass track and some slightly more aggressive vocals — filtered as if Charter were singing over the phone — but the track doesn’t really do anything with that initial energy, letting things slowly peter out in a brief two minutes. This lack of follow-through is an issue with the whole record, really — many of the songs don’t quite feel finished. The album points this out about itself weirdly enough, with a little snatch of dialogue on “Qwyn” saying the song “sounds a little like a vignette.”

The closer “Another Name” is the one track that that criticism cannot be leveled at. At over seven minutes, the song takes its time, with Charter singing a loose, freestyle-like diatribe

provided / Killbeat Music image /

over a looped phrase of group humming and clapping, finishing the album on a sombre note.

Edible Flowers is an interesting — if not completely coherent — record of murky, dank neo-soul from a pretty remarkable vocalist, working quite well as gloomy vibe-music.

Kyla Charter’s debut album Edible Flowers will be available April 8.

arts@themanitoban.com

Bentley named to U Sports all-rookie team

Setter makes the most of challenging season

SPORTS

Isaiah Wagner, staff Despite a rough season, the Bisons women’s volleyball team wasn’t without bright spots this year. Setter Katreena Bentley, a first-year player named to the Canada West all-rookie team, was one such spot.

Also appointed to the U Sports allrookie team, the Winnipeg product put up 685 assists, 22 kills and 50 points in total this season — incredible numbers for anyone, let alone a rookie.

Bentley also led all of Canada West in assists per set with a total of 10.53.

Overall, an impressive season for Bentley. Although she could not be happier about winning her award, Bentley says her teammates deserve the accolades as well.

“I am so proud of myself when it comes to this season,” Bentley said.

“I think I took a great step forward and helped my team do whatever it takes to win. Individual awards are never won by just individuals, the whole team deserves this for their great play.” Bentley credits her historic season to all the time she puts into her game every day. She says her drive to constantly improve is what allows her to succeed.

“I think I had a great year because of all the hard work that I put in on and off the court,” Bentley said.

“I have worked hard since day one [with] the Bisons and have not stopped since. This is extremely important to me because I always want to improve.”

However, the women’s volleyball team did not have the season it was hoping for. The team finished with a 6-10 record, placing second last in the east division, and had an early exit out of the Canada West playoffs after going without a win in its three games. Even though the Bisons did not have the finish it wanted, Bentley is still proud of all the work she and her teammates have put in so far.

“Overall the season was not exactly what we were looking for,” Bentley said.

“Our regular season was not bad, but we were not happy with the playoffs. We are a good team and did not perform to the standards that we set for ourselves. I am still very proud of all the girls.”

Already looking ahead to next season, Bentley says she expects her group to have a drastically better performance in the playoffs. She estimates her team’s hard work over the off-season will compliment its experience.

“I am looking forward to doing well in the playoffs next year,” Bentley said.

“We will have a more experienced team and should be able to have a

/ staff photo / Matthew Merkel

better season. We are going to work hard, [practice] and play like I know we can. The Bisons are going to have a great next season.”