In “Helmet Head,” Kyle Kimbrell has found a certain offbeat poetry in a seemingly disposable moment most of us would dismiss as family folklore. The Birmingham, Ala.-based singer/songwriter transforms a childhood nickname into the sort of self-deprecating reflection that’s become his calling card.
“My whole life, I’ve had a pretty big head—and my bowl cut from ages five to nine didn’t do me any favors,” says Kimbrell. “My uncle used to tease me about it, and that’s how the ‘Helmet Head’ nickname was born. It would just fly out of his mouth at random moments like it was preloaded.”
Available October 16 via Cornelius Chapel, Lonesome In The Sky is the latest album to document Kimbrell’s steady evolution as one of Alabama’s most compelling Americana voices. Its lived-in mix of country, rock, blues and folk serves as an amiable delivery method for observational storytelling that recalls some of the South’s literary greats. For “Helmet Head,” Kimbrell travels back a couple centuries, tapping into the earthy humor of Mark Twain.
“It didn’t take long before the nickname turned into a family inside joke,” says Kimbrell. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it stuck with me more than I realized.”
We’re proud to premiere Kyle Kimbrell’s “Helmet Head.”
—Hobart Rowland
