“From Kentwood With Love” An Album Inspired By West Michigan

Whenever you hear a song that mentions your home state, you can't help but get excited about it. Kiss' "Detroit Rock City". Everyone going absolutely ballistic when you hear "born and raised in South Detroit" during "Don't Stop Believin".

However, this album is one you've never heard of but will know many of the references made throughout.

From Kentwood With Love

As I was doing research for another article, I saw this post on r/Michigan_Memories. The link brought you to a Bandcamp page for an album titled "From Kentwood with Love" by Malt Drizzney. Malt's Reddit account says the album was made using a mix of samples, field recordings, and toy instruments.

Via Bandcamp, Malt Drizzney created the album to combat homesickness while they lived in Los Angeles. Throughout its creation, Malt actually returned to "the state I was homesick for." Ironically, they say they are "slightly sick" of Michigan again, so everything came full cycle.

Tracklist

"From Kentwood With Love" is a noise album, meaning there are no lyrics and most of the sound is pretty abstract. However, the tracklist for this album is what really drew me in. From tracks like "Bill Steffen vs The Weather (Familiar Faces #2)" and "A Real Man Would Fight Me At The Meijer", the list is littered with niche references you'd only get if you grew up in West Michigan.

Here is the full Track List:

1. Oh, Michigan
2. Lake Erie (with Best Pest)
3. The Man-Eating Potholes (ft. Sour Sop)
4. A Real Man Would Fight Me At The Meijer
5. Rivertown Mall (An Ode To King Chuck)
6. Craigs Cruiser Bruiser
7. Vernors vs Faygo
8. Grand River
9. A Car Crash on 28th Street? (Interlude)
10. Screaming At The Water (Waiting For It To Change)
11. IceWear Vezzo (Familiar Faces #1)
12. Bill Steffen Vs The Weather (Familiar Faces #2)
13. Joel Potrykus (Familiar Faces #3)
14. 76th Street Truck Stop Diner (Interlude ft. Beta Pest & Vanquished DJ)
15. Michigan vs Itself
16. Suicide In The Fall (ft. Hunter Clay)

I reached out to Malt Drizzey for an interview, but they did not respond. You can find more of Malt Drizzey's work on Bandcamp and can give them a follow on Instagram.