Chris Williams and Steve Varney — who record as Kid Reverie and spent a decade performing with Grammy-nominated artist Gregory Alan Isakov — have built a collaborative voice that fuses intimate folk songwriting with cinematic, slow-burning arrangement. Anchored in Williams’ introspective lyricism and Varney’s textured instrumentation, their music moves effortlessly from stark acoustic beginnings into expansive, orchestral soundscapes.
Following their album Something From Nothing, the duo has continued a steady run of releases, including “Bees,” “Strawberry Moon,” and “Haunt Me,” each of which has widened their reach across the indie-folk and Americana landscape.
On their latest outing under the Kid Reverie banner, the duo expands their mastery of folk tradition to reach a cinematic high on the moving “White Collar.” Williams and Varney created a tune filled with drama and color, the type of song that lingers in the room long after the last note is struck. “White Collar” employs romantic strings that dance with the building percussion and emotional vocal performance, treating every nuance of this performance with care and delivering it with grace. The way the vocals swirl around the arrangement is enchanting enough, but a deeper look into the songwriting reveals even more intoxicating layers. The duo paints a potent portrait of emotional unraveling, capturing the moment you realize things are beyond your control and the need to escape that reality. Kid Reverie packs all of this prowess and vulnerability into a stunning folk rock anthem, one you won’t forget any time soon.
