Dolls of Highland

Dolls of Highland
A close-up photo of Kyle Craft. Both the artist's name and album title appear above him, colored in white and pink respectively.
Studio album by
Kyle Craft
ReleasedApril 29, 2016 (2016-04-29)
Length44:30
LabelSub Pop
ProducerKyle Craft
Kyle Craft chronology
Dolls of Highland
(2016) 		Full Circle Nightmare
(2018)

Dolls of Highland is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician Kyle Craft. It was released on April 29, 2016 through Sub Pop record label.

Promotion

On March 29, 2016, Craft announced a late spring U.S. tour to promote Dolls of Highland during its release, all while supporting American indie rock band the Fruit Bats.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Guardian[4]
Paste8/10[5]
Pitchfork8.1/10[6]
PopMatters8/10[7]
Record Collector[8]
The Skinny[9]

Dolls of Highland received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 79, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on 7 reviews.[2] AllMusic critic Mark Donelson gave the album a positive review, stating: "Taken together, Craft delivers a fun and loose breakup album replete with colorful characters, memorable tunes, and an even more memorable vocal delivery--a noteworthy debut."[3] The Guardian's Dave Simpson described the record as a "brilliant, rollicking debut," which "hurls together Craft's Dylan-meets-Brett Anderson holler with rollicking ragtime stomp, reminiscent of vintage Cockney Rebel or early Suede."[4] Tiffany Daniels of Paste described Craft as "an unlikely hero of rock music", stating that he's "created a noteworthy, potentially groundbreaking debut album in Dolls of Highland."[5]

Stuart Berman of Pitchfork praised the album, stating: "Craft's outsized personality is matched by less flashy, more fundamental skills: vivid, immersive storytelling and sharply focused, fat-free songs that have the lived-in feel of 40-year-old FM-radio favorites."[6] PopMatters' Chris Ingalis described the record as "the sound of a young man returning home to chronicle his small town roots with the use of his ample talents" and "an exhilarating ride from start to finish."[7] David Harvey of Record Collector magazine compared the album to the works of Bowie, Dylan and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player-era Elton John, writing: "There are touches of My Morning Jacket in the vocals too, but in chief it is the already-mentioned artists who dominate Dolls Of Highland and if you've been missing them a lot, then this is an album not to be missed, filled with yearning and melody."[8] Uncut magazine described the album as "a head-turning mix, a sort of pop-art take on Southern gothic, and highly infectious."[10]

Nevertheless, Duncan Harman of The Skinny gave the album a mixed review, stating: "Craft's nutcracker vocals and lyrical self-exposure never quite as endearing as they threaten to be."[9]

Track listing

All songs are written by Kyle Craft.

  1. "Eye of a Hurricane" — 4:31
  2. "Balmorhea" — 3:01
  3. "Berlin" — 4:17
  4. "Lady of the Ark" — 5:06
  5. "Gloom Girl" — 4:49
  6. "Trinidad Beach (Before I Ride)" — 2:10
  7. "Future Midcity Massacre" — 3:07
  8. "Black Mary" — 3:36
  9. "Pentecost" — 4:01
  10. "Dolls of Highland" — 1:27
  11. "Jane Beat the Reaper" — 4:23
  12. "Three Candles" — 4:02

Personnel

Album personnel as adapted from album liner notes:[11]

  • Kyle Craft – performer
  • Opi Gridwald – trumpet (5)
  • Jacob Disedare – drums (7); backing vocals (10)
  • John Martin – backing vocals (10)
  • Laura Thompson – backing vocals (10)
  • Melissa Disedare – backing vocals (10)
  • Stevey Hensley – upright bass (12)
  • Benjamin Weikel (The Helio Sequence) – mixing
  • Brandon Summers (The Helio Sequence) – mixing
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Andrew Toups – photography
  • Sasha Barr – art direction

References

  1. ^ Sentell, Jack (March 29, 2016). "Song Premiere: Kyle Craft, "Eye of a Hurricane"". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Dolls Of Highland by Kyle Craft". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Donelson, Marcy. "Dolls of Highland - Kyle Craft". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (April 28, 2016). "Kyle Craft: Dolls of Highland review – brilliant, rollicking debut". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Daniels, Tiffany (April 29, 2016). "Kyle Craft: Dolls of Highland Review". Paste. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Berman, Stuart (April 25, 2016). "Kyle Craft - Dolls of Highland". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Ingalis, Chris (April 27, 2016). "Kyle Craft - Dolls of Highland". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Harvey, David (June 2016). "Kyle Craft - Dolls of Highland". Record Collector. Archived from the original on August 11, 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Harman, Duncan (April 8, 2016). "Kyle Craft – Dolls of Highland". The Skinny. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  10. ^ "Kyle Craft - Dolls of Highland". Uncut: 73. July 2016.
  11. ^ Kyle Craft — Dolls of Highlandalbum liner notes.
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