NEW ALBUM: A Decisive Acoustic Turn: The Kyle December’s Stripped-Back Triumph on ‘I’m A Decadent
The Kyle December
The Evolution of The Kyle December
At North of Here, we always champion creative re-invention, especially from independent artists. Naturally, our ears certainly pricked up when I’m A Decadent, the new album from The Kyle December, hurtled into our inbox.
For the uninitiated, The Kyle December is the moniker of independent Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Stefano D'Angelo. Since 2022, D'Angelo has carved out a distinct sonic footprint in alternative rock, beginning with the raw, punk-and-noise-influenced Lo-Fi Demo EP, followed by a fierce 2023 cover of The Weirdos’ classic "Life of Crime."
The project's momentum peaked in 2024 with a double-delivery: the ambitious alternative rock concept debut, The Rope Springs Eternal, and the more introspective companion piece, Realism Through the Lens. After hinting at further evolution with the 2025 single Trendsetters, D'Angelo has arrived at a decisive turning point.
Released on CD and all streaming platforms on July 3, 2026, I’m A Decadent is a stark, captivating departure.
A Decisive Acoustic Turn
I’m A Decadent album cover
Self-produced, performed, mixed, and mastered entirely by D'Angelo, the seven-track album deliberately moves away from the abrasive alternative rock of his past. Instead, it embraces a stripped-back, organic, and highly intimate narrative approach rooted in folk, darkwave, and acoustic rock.
By shedding the wall of distortion, the record allows gothic and post-punk influences to take over, giving immense weight to D'Angelo’s lyricism. Throughout the album, his performance balances delicate acoustic melodies with a deeply dramatic, angsty, and slightly theatrical vocal delivery.
The journey begins with the opening track, Predestined, which immediately establishes this new direction. It is a song defined by dark, mellow moments reminiscent of early Smashing Pumpkins, draped in an elegant, poetic melancholy.
The Orphan Pattern further reinforces the theme but adds a splatter of hope to it mellowness:
"In princely resentments and grace. There’s a new day to live the night, In the deaf and hidden violence of a new religion, new conception of light."
This thread of natural, almost seasonal transition carries directly into the fragile beauty of Spring, before plunging into the shadows of The Skit. Here, minimalist acoustic brushings underpin the track with a dense, haunting opacity, eventually winding down to its ghostly epitaph: "Ghosts in High Heels Fading Out."
Symbolism, Space, and Shadows
D'Angelo’s brilliant use of metaphor and heavy symbolism sits at the forefront of the album's back half. On Of Swans & Swastikas, the sweeping, dark arrangements lean heavily into a grand, Smashing Pumpkins-esque theatricality.
(Note: Lest there be any misconception, D'Angelo has clarified that the title references the swastika's ancient, pre-Nazi origin as a universal solar symbol of good fortune, protection, and life—using its historical context rather than any modern political association).
The title track, I’m A Decadent, is a brilliant exercise in atmosphere. Punctuated by the stark refrain, "The Thirsty Dogs Drool After Drinking," the song recalls the brilliant use of space and bleak beauty perfected by artists like Robert Smith of The Cure and Billy Corgan.
The album reaches a melancholic conclusion with Plunge/Disillusion. It is a beautiful track of contradictions, where a defiant, upbeat acoustic motif frames a deeply disenchanted, heartbreaking lyric: "I might as well fall without you now."
There’s a New Day to Live the Night
The Kyle December
Over its seven tracks, I’m A Decadent explores heavy, isolation-induced themes: loneliness, abandonment, and rural detachment. Yet, despite the darkness that pervades the record, it never feels entirely bleak.
Instead, the record serves as an exploration of the fragility of the human self that never loses sight of resilience, self-awareness, and hope. It is a deeply authentic, personal, and triumphantly executed pivot from Stefano D'Angelo.
“There’s a new day to live the night”
TRACKLIST
01. Predestined
02. The Orphan Pattern
03. Spring
04. The Skit
05. Of Swans & Swastikas*
06. I’m A Decadent
07. Plunge/Disillusion
All songs written, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Stefano D'Angelo.
