Kyle Falconer is best known as the lead vocalist of Scottish indie rockers The View. He releases his latest solo album ‘The One I Love The Most’ this month, which is a collection of songs from his back catalogue, all of which are named after women and have been newly reworked in acoustic form. The album`s title is named after a lyric taken from The View fan favourite ‘5 Rebeccas’.
We are led into this latest release with `Grace` about guitarist Pete Reilly’s downstairs neighbours and their noise complaints against him. This reworked version has a shimmering retro feel and shared at a slower tempo to the original. A brand new song follows with `Angelina` a story of a relationship which has been ruined by conflicting perceptions on what the truth really is. It has a wonderfully expansive feel with some orchestrated strings that really give it a spacious texture.
`Dixie` in its stripped down format gives it a more heartbreaking, forsaken texture than the version that was originally from `Exorcism of Youth`, released a couple of years ago and the band’s first studio album in eight years. There`s a slight play on names with `Rebecca` which was `5 Rebeccas` when recorded for the `Which Bitch?` album. It has a similar enticing rolling rhythmic beat here.
`Gem` again was originally `Gem of a Bird` from the same album as `5 Rebeccas` written about Kyle`s girlfriend at the time and has a similar vibe to the original as both were fairly stripped back. We enjoy a completely reworked `Blondie` which has a strolling consistency and rolls along with a sort of introspective slant on a relationship that seems to have its ups and downs.
`Lilly Anne` I read, is really a love letter to LA, written when Kyle got the news he’d be allowed to stay Stateside back in the day. I thought the version shared here was much more rounded out and had a delightfully warm melodic quality. There was in `Penny` a mix of folk heading into rock while retaining the intricacy of the guitars shared on the original.
`Laura` shares regrets for the singers past behaviour and the impact it had on his then-partner and now-wife Laura Wilde. It seems even more stripped down here which allows a greater sense of suppliance and emotion. Manchester rapper PROSE joins Kyle on the latter part of `Lucy` which gives the number a further sense of poignancy.
`Claudia` a song of unrequited love from the band`s debut album `Hats Off To the Buskers` retains that sense of romantic despair but has a real foot tapping folky ambience. The issues of gender identity are touched on with the melodic `Kelly` a deeply emotional listen on a subject that a lot of artists would shy away from.
The final cut is `Madonna` which was released previously as `Madonna’s Make up` an amusing composition that imagines what the ideal afterlife might be like. A final naked offering with tambourine rather than strings and a gentle but caressing brief guitar solo.
I have to say that what stands out for me with The View and Kyle`s solo work, apart from his lyricism is his voice, it has that rich and enticing Scottish brogue or Dundee dialect which really draws you in. He doesn`t fake an American accent like others do and that for me makes him fairly unique.
‘The One I Love The Most’ is an enjoyable and interesting listen with a novel slant on tunes that may well be already familiar in a different style or format. If you`re looking for a present for Valentine`s Day for someone special in your life, you`d do no better that acquiring a copy.
Rating 8.5/10
REVIEW: KYLE FALCONER – THE ONE I LOVE THE MOST (2025)
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