Kris Angelis

One can not appreciate life’s many joys without enduring a bit of pain. Singer-songwriter Kris Angelis processes her own feelings on the matter with her stunning, wave-swept new video “That Siren, Hope,” premiering today on American Songwriter.

In traipsing the water’s edge, before fully submerging herself in chilly depths, Angelis uncovers the beauty that comes with weathering the storm. “I thought that shine was a lighthouse / But it was just that siren, hope / Sang me to sleep / Yeah, she taught me dream / Turns out her song is just a joke…”

She juxtaposes such a harsh lyric against an extraordinary view. Sun hanging high, the beach offers the kind of ecstasy she’s been craving, but the answers quickly fade with the sun’s inevitable march to the horizon. “I’m learning more and more that beautiful and wonderful things often come at a price of some difficulty and pain,” she says.


“That Siren, Hope” splinters on the vine, both hope and melancholy uniting and then withering as one. “[It is] the idea that having hope and striving for something can feel dangerous, like a siren luring you in. It was also very true about the process of making this video,” she continues. “All of the images for the album and video (shot by Lee Holbrook) came with stinging eyes, scratched and cut feet, and trying to keep a peaceful expression while laying down in freezing waves.”

When Angelis returns to land, there is a new-found determination glinting in her eyes. “Going through that process was a full circle realization for me after the seeming despair of the song,” she says, “…that what’s on the other side of the hard times is worth it. That’s why I wrote the lyric: ‘You keep singing and I’ll be the dancer.’ Don’t give up.”

“That Siren, Hope” is the title song to Angelis’ new EP (pre-order here), out Friday, January 24. - American Songwriter Magazine

Singer-songwriter Kris Angelis doesn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve; she brandishes it in the very titles of her folk/pop songs, like “Heartbreak Is Contagious” and “I Hope I Never Fall in Love Again,” as well as her 2013 album The Left Atrium, which garnered an LA Music Critics Award for Best Female Album upon its release.


“I don’t understand how people get through life who don’t have some sort of artistic outlet,” Angelis says. As a student, when she had a difficult assignment, she would relieve stress by writing songs. “Most of my songs are inspired by personal experiences. Usually when I go through some sort of heartbreak I do something really intense to distract myself,” she says. Her lyrics are often in the second person, written to and about a “you” whom she disarms by being reflective rather than rancorous:

You would’ve been my first choice if only I was yours
But my dear I’m getting weary of knocking on closed doors
Born in Florida, Angelis spent the first 10 years of her life on a farm outside Gainesville before crossing the country to California with her parents, setting out for Monterey by car on her and her twin sister Alix’s 11th birthday. Both parents were in the Air Force, her mother a lieutenant colonel and her father a hospice nurse who eventually retired with the rank of major. For a brief time the family lived on the campus of the Naval Postgraduate School, before moving first to Pebble Beach and then to Carmel Valley, where the girls attended Carmel High. “That was a really good place to grow up and become an artist in,” Angelis says. “There’s a good community there for the arts. It has so many theaters for being such a small town.”

Angelis—pronounced like Los Angeles, her current hometown—has been singing all her life, since before she could talk, according to family lore. When the teen pop boy band Hanson had their Grammy-nominated hit, “MMMBop,” it was a revelation for Angelis, who identified with the young singers and felt a world opening up. Before that, she shares, “I felt like musicians and singers were these otherworldly creatures.” She and her sister learned to harmonize by listening to Hanson. “I was also very influenced by my parents’ records, and my grandparents’ music taste as well – lots of classical, Strauss waltzes, and the Eagles and Beatles and the Archies. A lot of great harmonies and pop sensibilities had an influence on what I do now.”


After graduation she enrolled at UC Santa Barbara. “One of the best—of many—things I remember about UCSB was the beach basically surrounding the campus,” she recalls. “One night, some friends and I went for a dip right outside our dorm and got covered in bioluminescent algae and felt like mermaids!” When members of the Brandi Carlisle Band were visiting to play the Lobero (the oldest continuously operating theater in the Golden State), Angelis decided to show them the beach. They ended up frolicking with dolphins close to shore.

“It was important to me that everything be real: organic instruments and no Auto-Tune. Because people, feelings, and life aren’t perfect and that’s what gives them—and art—its soul.”

Her musical interests were always paired with a love of dance: ballet, jazz, modern lyrical dance. Her career goal upon entering college had been to become a physical therapist, a logical and practical adjunct, as she saw it, to her dance work. She earned a liberal arts degree with all the necessary premedical credits to be admitted to the PhD program at USC for physical therapy. “Then I was like, you know what? I want to be a singer and an actress,” she says. So she moved to LA.

After spending time with her friends from the Brandi Carlisle Band, from whom she has learned about the business of music, she focused on her songwriting. “I let my sister be the actress,” she chuckles, referring to her twin, an actress, writer, and filmmaker.


Brief Sounds was Kris’ first CD, created in 2005 with an assist on chords and backup instrumentation from musician Tim Hanseroth, captured on a four-track analogue recorder in his Seattle apartment. “Most of my songs are about unrequited love or some sort of love turmoil,” she explains. Her next EP, Ghost in the Corner, “was about me really delving and discovering myself as an artist and grappling with that. Not knowing where I’m going or which path I should be taking.”

I try to ignore that whispering voice
What if I opened the door
Only to find there was nothing behind
but what meets the eye?
Angelis currently lives in Pasadena. “What I like about LA is almost everyone you meet is up to something,” she says. “They came here because they have dreams and are passionate about something. For a long time I was living in the Valley – I just sort of kept moving east along Moorpark Avenue. I like this area because it’s not crazy parking like in Hollywood. One of my favorites is Sweetsalt; it’s a great little place in Toluca Lake. And Tujunga Valley has Aroma café. They don’t have Wi-Fi so everyone is just there to talk or write.”


Her 2017 album Heartbreak Is Contagious, more pop than folk, was a collaboration with two songwriters and a producer, who encouraged her to record at least one unequivocally happy tune. The finger-snapping single “Kevin Bacon” was a result. “It’s called ‘Kevin Bacon’ not because it’s actually about him but because it references his moves, like Footloose, as part of the dancing and fun,” she explains. A music video accompanying the release showed Angelis attempting to teach a handsome/slightly uncoordinated guy how to move to the beat, their flirty pas de deux moving from the 40-yard line of a football gridiron to a family living room and back out to a field of weeds.

We’re breaking all the rules,
I’m ‘bout to cut footloose,
your Kevin Bacon moves…
On a hot afternoon last summer at Campos Family Vineyards in Byron, California, Angelis sat on a stool in a sleeveless red dress serenading the tasting room visitors with her Guild OM 140-E guitar. Some songs hearken to a personal loss two years ago, when her car was broken into at the end of a tour, all her valuables, including computer and instruments, gone:

Stained glass, stronger than we were before.
Stained glass, pieces that were stolen, colored by the way we are.
During a break she accepted a glass of Campos Big Red blend from a member of the winery staff, and took a few minutes to do a live selfie video for her fans on social media. A couple in the room enjoying a bottle of wine were happy to have the opportunity to experience her music in person. “We’ve heard you on Spotify,” the man told her.


She ended not with one of her own compositions but with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” According to the poster advertisements, she was scheduled to perform until 4 PM. As she resolved the song on its final note, there was just a bit of lovely reverb at the end, and then silence. (I stole a glance at my phone: 4 PM exactly; the woman is a pro.) “I’m on tour,” she told the room, with the pride of someone happy to have found her niche. “This is my full-time job. It’s what I do now.”

Within the hour she was en route to the airport to catch a flight to Alaska, to pitch a tent on the Portage Glacier for a couple of nights before performing at The Last Frontier Bar in Anchorage. Alaska would be state 30-something in her quest to perform in all 50 states. (As of press time she has accomplished her goal, celebrating after a performance in Hawaii.)

She generally gets from place to place not by plane, but in her Prius C, and likes seeing different parts of the country. “So much of it is gorgeous,” she says, “even places that I didn’t think… Idaho! Who knew?” As for the challenges of road life? “I have to do all the driving, no matter how tired I am. But the positive side is I can be alone and talk to myself and no one cares.”

Along with places to go and songs to sing she also has people to meet. She stays with “friends of friends of friends,” to whom she is introduced after putting out word of where she’ll be next. “I’ve just been really touched by how generous and open people are to having a stranger stay with them. I’ve met a lot of cool people that have a different point of view.”

Angelis’ forthcoming album That Siren, Hope will debut January 16 at a launch party at Hotel Café in Los Angeles, and is available for preorder on iTunes. It explores various facets of hope, an emotion she sees “as a siren of the sea, luring you toward something only to have you crash into the rocks, which is what it can sometimes feel like when you place your hope in certain things.” The album’s genre reflects a return to the folk roots of her earlier work, a bit of a twang to her voice, but even more Americana in style. “It was important to me that everything be real: organic instruments and no Auto-Tune,” she says. “Because people, feelings, and life aren’t perfect and that’s what gives them—and art—its soul.” - Gentry magazine (cover)

"That Siren, Hope" debuted at #79 on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart on Feb 4th, 2020 - Billboard

'That Siren, Hope' debuts at #1 on iTunes singer/songwriter chart on Jan 24, 2020 -

24th January 2020 saw the independent unveiling of That Siren, Hope. This exquisite EP is yet again another slice of perfection and it showcased what a complete marvel Kris Angelis actually is.

Now I’ve been following Kris’s career for a number of years, she’s a superb singer/ songwriter who comes all the way from Los Angeles. She has been in the music industry for a good 7 years and during that time Angelis has gone onto release several EPs and a full length album. I was introduced to Kris’s music in 2017, the first listen of Heartbreak Is Contagious instantaneously hooked me. This left myself with the desire to delve into the back catalogue and that’s when I came across 2013s Left Atrium LP. Now I have nothing but praise for Kris Angelis, she is a true talent with sweetly smooth vocal tones which never fail to make you smile.

Anyhow my thoughts on the majestic That Siren, Hope are incredibly positive. Featured you had 6 startling songs drenched in acoustic folk/ country goodness. Things kicked off with I Hope I Never Fall In Love Again and this being a ballad which tugged on my heartstrings. Angelis’s breezy vocal tones had me envisioning Elisabeth “Lissie” Maurus whilst those tender lyrics centred on heartache. Just listening to this number has me picturing splitting up with that someone who you thought you were destined to be with. As the feelings of love remain (despite split) the hope that you’ll reunite still remains “Now I’m living in a fantasy/ That you’ll come find me on that balcony/ We’ll run away and leave it all behind/ But I’m running out of time”. Now the term I Hope I Never Fall In Love Again could refer to not wanting to go through the heartbreak again or it could mean that you are reluctant to let go as you’re clinging onto hope you’ll get back together. As this tantalising tune progressed there is a sense of healing as Kris wonders whether loving and losing is better than never loving at all. Following on you have Brighter Blue and everything about this number was spot on. Anyhow this succulent song was written alongside Garrison Starr and what they have here is a real masterpiece. Whist it started off at a low moment “You know that feeling/ Reaching in the dark/ Lonely and cold/ Not even a spark” this tantalising track does pick morphing into something extremely uplifting. The wondrous chorus gave off that feeling of hope and Angelis’s heavenly vocals were pleasant on the ear. Anyways whatever shade of blue you may be there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Ghost was a fast paced toe tapping jam drenched in acoustic country goodness. Despite focusing on a relationship break up, Kris Angelis actually looked back on the happier times. Even though the pain hurts like hell Angelis comes to the realisation that she’s alive and breathing “I’m alive and breathing/ My heart’s still beating/ I don’t want to be dreaming/ I’m alive and breathing”. Anyhow I adored this track, it had been perfectly written and Kris’s tantalising tones were bright and breezy. Despite the sadness tinged lyrical content there were moments of positivity. Everything about That Siren, Hope was on point, that majestic melody resonated a smoothness, the strings were spine tingling and Angelis’s crisp vocal tones were a breath of fresh air. These perfectly penned lyrics offered an emotional narrative of a sailor who’s lost at sea “Do you know where we’re going?/ I’ve been sailing for days/ Tossing boulders in that rowdy sea/ Longing for your gaze”, plus they also explored the downside to having hope. However that hope wasn’t the shine of a lighthouse, instead it was siren calling you into the waves “I’m just a question who wants to be the answer/ A weary sailor who cannot read the stars/ You keep singing and I’ll be the dancer”.


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Next it was time for a bit of If I Can’t Have What I Want and this tune was literally an emotional roller coaster. It centred on a broken heart, but feelings for that person remain resulting in that hope that something will bring you back together. The girl has forgiven the guy for his past mistake “I forgive you/ But how can I forget” but the heart ache is residual. What tugged on my heart strings was the fact that the girl wants this guy but cannot because he’s probably with someone new. This impeccable EP concluded with Misplaced Hope and if I was to describe it in one word it would have to be enchanting. Those luscious lyrics were tender whist Angelis’s vibrant vocals were hushed.

The Billy Lefler produced That Siren, Hope was literally a sheer spectacle. Everything about this exquisite EP was spot on, those impeccable tracks were pleasant on the ear and Kris’s angelic vocal tones were soothing. Well the theme to this EP centred around hope and these 6 songs offered a majestic narrative which tugged on my heart strings at time.

I’ve listened to That Siren, Hope quite a lot of times and I hold it within my highest regards. Basically it’s a well written masterpiece which left me placing it on constant repeat. Picking a favourite number is an impossible task, having listened to this mini album multiple times I’ve got a fondness for each of the 6 tracks which feature. Singles aside it was Ghost which captivated me on the first play through, this was an addictive gem aided by a country tinged melody. But when If I Can’t Have What I Want came on it was literally love at first listen, Angelis’s vocals were tender and you could feel the emotion which flowed from them. - The Music Is My Radar

"If I Can't Have What I Want", "Ghost", and "That Siren, Hope" have been selected as semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition - International Songwriting Competition

page 54 - Music Connection Magazine

Kris Angelis gets right to the root of the most complex emotions through her introspective approach to songwriting.

Having garnered critical acclaim for her 2013 EP Left Atrium, as well as her 2018 EP Pieces That Were Stolen, the award-winning singer and storyteller returns in 2020 with her newest collection That Siren, Hope. Bringing together six poignant tracks, the EP helps ease the pain of heartbreak by exploring a relationship that has come to an end, the emotional turmoil that occurs as a result, and the daunting struggle of rediscovering oneself in the rise from the ashes.

Kris broke down That Siren, Hope track by track for Musical Notes Global readers. Check out her thoughts below.

siren EP cover art.png
“I Hope I Never Fall In Love Again”

I Hope I Never Fall In Love Again was written from a place of not wanting to feel the pain of a broken heart again. From the place of feeling like "better to have loved and lost than to never have loved" might be crap ;) Feeling like you couldn't really fall in love again, anyway because your heart is already given, which could be a good thing - a declaration of faithfulness, but in this case it's not a situation where the person can give you theirs in return, or at least, a relationship cannot be fulfilled. Even though the title of the song seems grim, it's more about that feeling, than an actual desire because, of course, we want to fall in love again, but we want it to LAST. “I Hope I Never Have A Crush Again” might have been more accurate (but somewhat less impactful) because falling in love with someone seems to indicate mutuality, which I was lamenting the lack of. It circles back to that truth of being a hopeless (or hopeFUL?) romantic and admitting that if I ever felt for someone again, I'd jump in, heart first, like I always do.



“Brighter Blue”

When you’ve been feeling very down and very blue, there usually (hopefully) comes a time when you are feeling a bit better. You’re not happy yet, but you’re a brighter shade of blue. You can see that there might be a light coming around the bend or just below the horizon. That’s what Brighter Blue is about.




“Ghost”

Ghost is about remembering someone fondly and giving it another try and then remembering why it didn’t work out in the first place. Those old rose-tinted hazy edged film reels that play in the back of your mind often edit out the bad stuff. It’s about someone who disappears like a ghost but also makes you feel like a forgotten and unseen ghost who has unfinished business. The song has an uplifting and empowering message of declaring in the face of that, that you’re still alive and breathing, with a beating heart that deserves real love.




“That Siren, Hope”

There is a Greek myth about mermaid-like creatures who sang beautiful songs that would lure unsuspecting sailors to their watery death as their ships crashed against the rocks. In my lower moments, I have felt like that is what hope is. When you get all excited about something only to be bitterly disappointed in the end, it can feel like hope is dangerous even though it is usually a good thing that keeps us going in the dark like a lighthouse. “I thought that shine was a lighthouse/but it was just that siren, Hope/turns out her song was just a joke.” There is a lot of imagery in the lyrics inspired by Northern California.




“If I Can’t Have What I Want”

There are times when it’s still healing, that trying to open your heart just reminds you of what you can’t have. It starts to feel like wanting anything is a painful and futile effort so maybe it’s safer and more practical not to want anything and avoid the heartache - geez, can you tell I was going through some stuff when I wrote this album?! The lyrics say “If I can’t have what I want, then I’ll want nothing at all” and at the end “then I’ll want what I can’t have, because I can’t have you.” It’s admitting what you want while reluctantly resigning yourself to not getting to have it. I think this is a relatable feeling but I have to keep reminding myself and anyone who feels the same that if you don’t get to have something, it’s just not yours, and there is something out there that is.




“Misplaced Hope”

I tried to end on a somewhat positive note with a song that has the same theme of unfulfilled desire as the rest of the album but with a comforting call not to be afraid because though you may feel like all hope is lost, it’s just misplaced. It’s not gone, you just put it in the wrong specific thing or person this time and that doesn’t mean you should give up or stop loving and trying with all your heart.

Listen to That Siren Hope below. - Musical Notes Global blog

it's a video :) - The Arroyo Shows

Florida-raised, California-residing singer-songwriter Kris Angelis unveils a captivating video for her recent single That Siren, Hope. Like the alluring song title, Angelis beguiles with her heartfelt vocals.

Angelis is also the focus of the video, which was shot and edited by Lee Holbrook. She emotes for the camera as she unspools her storytelling tune.



She’s surrounded by the beautiful natural world in the clip which is filled with expansive beach wilderness scenery, from the driftwood and giant boulders on the shore to the restless ocean waves.

The song is about having trust in a relationship, or even in yourself, and the feeling that hits when that trust is fragile or broken. Shots of Angelis dunked in the water and struggling for air is a metaphor for trying to get free of a bad situation and to live boldly and without uncertainty.

That Siren, Hope is the title track off Angelis’ new EP That Siren Hope, which made landfall on January 24th. - The Record Stache

Kris Angelis fights for her last shred of faith in the video for her new single, “That Siren, Hope.” Whether she’s running across the sand towards a lighthouse that doesn’t exist or fighting for her breath as she reaches desperately for the surface, Angelis struggles to trust, not only in herself but in the hope of breaking free. The cinematography traverses long stretches of beach and underwater shots that will take your breath away, making for a genuinely picturesque cinematic experience. The ocean stands in as the lover that refuses to tell you which way is up or down, but it’s Angelis stunning vocals and pristine arrangements that tell the story of the moment when all hope is lost. Check out the video for Kris Angelis’ “That Siren, Hope,” out now. “That Siren, Hope” is the title song to Angelis’ new EP. - Outloud Culture

Kris Angelis fights for her last shred of faith in the video for her new single, « That Siren, Hope. » Whether she’s running across the sand towards a lighthouse that doesn’t exist or fighting for her breath as she reaches desperately for the surface, Angelis struggles to trust, not only in herself but in the hope of breaking free.
The cinematography traverses long stretches of beach and underwater shots that will take your breath away, making for a genuinely picturesque cinematic experience. The ocean stands in as the lover that refuses to tell you which way is up or down, but it’s Angelis stunning vocals and pristine arrangements that tell the story of the moment when all hope is lost.

That Siren, Hope – Kris Angelis – Official Music Video
https://youtu.be/Ll75zzOl6co

Check out the video for Kris Angelis‘ « That Siren, Hope, » out now. “That Siren, Hope” is the title song to Angelis’ new EP (→ pre-order here), out Friday, January 24. - Selection Sorties

To celebrate the release of her new album, The Left Atrium, Kris Angelis brought her friends and a killer band for an incredible performance at the Hotel Cafe' last Sunday night. Besides her twin sister Alix on backing vocals, her band included her Twilight Girls bandmates and friends Mallory Trunnell on keys and backing vocals and Lauren Harding on backing vocals and tamborine, as well as Jeff Zacharski (who produced the album) and Mat Koehler on guitar, Charles Wiley on drums, Andrew Perusi on bass and Julia Wood on cello and backing vocals. In addition, Kris played ukelele and guitar.

With her friend Zane Carney (who recorded a duet with Kris on her album) set to follow her show, Kris launched into a perfect combination of genres and songs that reflected the best of her new album.

She hit the ground running with Cut to the Chase, with its dynamic harmonies, lovely cello, and the cute nuances of a triangle and a match catching fire to light up this cute song. From there, she performed Rhyme not Reason, an upbeat pop song about the experience of falling in love.

Next up was the duet with Zane, Nothing you can Say, which is also the title of the first video released from the album. The harmonies between Kris and Zane are heavenly, and the simple melody and words of the song are soothing and sweet, perfect for winding down from a long stressful day.

Kris continued the smooth style with her next song, Empty Cabinets, which was simply played with just piano, ukelele and cello. Kris then brought back a song from her past (when she played with the Twilight Girls), Kiss You Awake, which has the most haunting melody. She followed that up with her cover for the night, Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me, done acoustically and totally different than any other arrangement I have ever heard.

For her final three songs, Kris put on her folk/Americana/country hat, as she showed us a taste of what could very well be Nashville's future: Not Your Fault, a song that's ready for placement now and Rust, a country rocker, co-written with Lauren Harding, that has all the markings of the next big hit for either Miranda Lambert or her band, the Pistol Annies.

Kris closed her set with what she hopes will become a popular bar song, Walk With You, a rollicking Celtic tune that felt very Irish, complete with banjo.

This entire night was special, not just because of the music of Kris Angelis and her wonderful band, but because of the fact that you never know who else you might run into at a Hotel Cafe show. On this night, it was someone I consider to be the consummate Green Arrow, a role he played for six seasons on Smallville - Justin Hartley. So great meeting him and finding out he's going to be on another one of my favorite shows - Revenge. All in all, it was a very good night.
- The Examiner

Sometimes, you hear certain songs and tones that are so commercially viable that you ask yourself, “how is this not a major record already?”. A ptime example of this is Kris Angelis’ track, “Built This House”, which feels tailor made for Top 40 radio. Angelis has already seen some decent success, though, as she’s put out an album and an EP, played several major festivals, and has previously premiered music on Ryan Seacrest’s website. One listen to “Built This House”, and you’ll be calling up your local radio station to ask them to put it into rotation. Listen to the enormous potential of Kris Angelis below: - Breaking & Entering

Kris Angelis has a beautifully angelic voice that she uses expertly through her ability to emote at the highest level. Her soft folk sound, bordering on a Civil Wars type of country vibe, she is uniquely emotional with each and every song on her newly released “The Left Atrium.” One of my favorite songs is “Nothing You Can Say,” an absolutely heartbreaking back and forth between two lovers that just can’t love each other enough. A simple acoustic song, their vocal harmonies are allowed to stand in the center of the spotlight, coexisting together in a bittersweet way that will most definitely bring you to tears. Zane Carney is currently on tour with John Mayer, but he lent his beautiful voice to this song and most definitely gave it a breathtaking aspect. If you’re into it, also check out “Empty Cabinets,” another great cut off a pretty phenomenal release. - Jukebox Mixtape

I have known Kris Angelis for quite a few years, and have watched her evolution as an artist and entertainer. With her latest album The Left Atrium, Angelis reveals herself musically to the universe as a talented songwriter who is unafraid to try something different.

I first met Angelis and her musical friends, Mallory Trunnell, Lauren Harding and Lyndzie Taylor when I was running the SoCal Music Live competition a few years back. Each one had a unique flavor to their music, which really came together when they performed as the Twilight Girls, a group that wrote and sang about all things Twilight.

Since that time, Angelis has continued to hone her craft, playing show after show, until reaching the nirvana that is The Left Atrium.

Angelis spins 13 songs that cover a myriad of genres, including folk, Americana and country, are filled with emotion, and firmly place her in line to be one of the best musicians in the indie market today.

One of the highlights of the album is Nothing You Can Say, Angelis' duet with Zane Carney (who played guitar for the Broadway production of Spiderman and is a member of the rock band Carney). Sweet and melodic, it is a diamond in the rough of today's indie music. Check out the video.

Although the entire album is incredible, my favorite tracks include Half as Afraid, which could be a runaway country hit and deserves a placement on ABC's Nashville; Rust, which reminds me of Miranda Lambert; Empty Cabinets, which is as smooth and soothing as silk; Neverland, an upbeat pop tribute to Peter Pan; and Cut to the Chase, an entirely different song with a definite Latin flair that sets it apart from everything else on the album.

Angelis is celebrating the release of The Left Atrium with a show at the famed Hotel Cafe on Sunday, July 28 at 8 p.m. Get more details here

The Left Atrium is a joy to listen to. I highly recommend you add this treasure to your musical library. - The Examiner

Kris Angelis’ passion for singing was first captured on a home video of herself and her twin sister, Alix, singing theatrically on their home staircase at the age of three. Growing up on a on a farm in rural Florida without cable television, she spent her childhood absorbing the music from her grandparents and parents’ vinyl collections; Artists like The Eagles, The Beatles, and the Pretenders just to name a few.

“My parents and whole family are doctors, and when I told them, ‘I wanna be a performer,’ they were like, ‘where did you come from?’” She said with a laugh.

Kris spent her years in school eagerly pursuing every opportunity to perform in musicals, church choirs, anything she could to be on stage. Despite her excitement to perform, Kris admits that she used to be PAINFULLY shy.

“It’s kind of amazing to me I can actually sing on stage now. I used to get so terrified that my voice would just stop working. But I still wanted to do [music].”

Even this strange paradox didn’t stop Kris from chasing her dream.


KRIS ANGELIS
Angelis eventually swapped coasts and wound up in California. There, she found herself immersed in an incredibly artistic culture and pursued acting. She’s had quite a unique slew of gigs—including a featured role playing a conjoined twin with her sister in an episode of Bones. She’s also appeared in Bud Light’s Super Bowl XLVIII commercial, as well as several independent films over the years.

While still an actress, Kris has focused in on her musical endeavors.

“I switched gears a few years ago to exclusively pursue music,” she explained.

In 2013 she released The Left Atrium, a full-length album that illuminated gritty, folky, acoustic undertones. Since then, she’s put out several other singles including “It’s Gonna Be Alright” in November 2016, “Roll The Dice” last January, and a four-part EP, Heartbreak Is Contagious, this past summer.


KRIS ANGELIS
Kris credits her musical inspiration to a countless range of artists: Elton John, Sara Bareilles, Hanson, Taylor Swift, Freddie Mercury, and more. Having so many diverse musical influences, Angelis admits that she sometimes finds herself inside an identity crisis when describing her own sound. She eloquently phrased her spot on the music spectrum as “Folk/Americana ideas and storytelling with organic instrumentation and modern Pop production.” Loving both the Folk and Pop music realms, she tries to meld the two genres together in her own music.

Digging into the “organic-ness” of a song is something that’s very important to Kris.

“The part of music that I fell in love with is the emotional connection you can make. I like to hear the musician breathe, or fingers making contact with guitar strings.”

She elaborated on this idea, explaining that she feels the meaning of a song in today’s world can get a little lost sometimes. She recalls when Miley Cyrus—yet another artist she admires—released “Wrecking Ball,” it wasn’t until she heard a Mumford & Sons mashup with Cyrus’ lyrics that she realized the true beauty of the song.

“I realized that I got so distracted by the video and everything surrounding the presentation of it, that I didn’t see how good of a song it was until it was stripped down.”


Keeping it simple is another philosophy Angelis incorporates into her projects. She says some of her older idols like Elton John and Freddie Mercury helped her understand the gravity of simplicity.

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“Just the way they sing a word is the emotion. Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll have a melody that is so melancholy or moving, and I’ll think to myself, I don’t have the words important enough for this melody or vice versa.”

Kris has come to realize that sometimes saying the simplest, obvious concept in a raw, human way can make a huge emotional impact and be incredibly profound.

But the singer-songwriter is in touch with more than just the melancholy side of her sound—she aims to lift spirits with her music, too.


KRIS ANGELIS
Just this past Friday Kris released her newest single “Bright Side.” She co-wrote the track with The Rescues band member Adrianne Gonzalez. Angelis found the inspiration for the song a few months ago after her car was stolen with everything she owned in it.

“After that happened, I was just like, you know what, I’ve got to look on the bright side. I have amazing friends, amazing family that are helping me out, people online who were watching the live streaming I had been doing.”

Angelis explained that she received an immense amount of support after the misfortune and someone someone sent her an entire recording setup for free.

“Even when stuff like this happens, I think there’s always a reason to look on the bright side.”

When Angelis and Gonzalez first met to write together, the two didn’t have a specific sound in mind for their project. Having recently released her heart-wrenching, core-melting Heartbreak Is Contagious EP, Angelis knew she was ready to create something happier. Gonzalez had come up with a beat that was originally much slower, and Angelis proposed an idea.

“What if we made something that is just really upbeat, something happy, but not too cheesy? Something kind of in your face, like, ‘YEAH! Life can suck sometimes, but that’s OK!”

Gonzalez was on board. The pair wrote the track in a day’s time.

“Bright Side” was released at a seemingly perfect time—in the midst of the political, natural disaster, tragedy-stricken state the world is experiencing right now.

“This song has a making lemons into lemonade, ‘no one’s gonna steal my thunder’ type of feeling, which I think is empowering. We need that,” she said of the single. “It’s a happy song for happy people or sad people.”

Kris is donating the proceeds from the single’s presale and it’s first week of release to those who were affected by the tragic Route 91 Harvest music festival shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.

Check out “Bright Side” and Kris Angelis’ other projects here! - HuffPost

It is a unique skill to be able to sing from your own experience and make it universal, make it understandable to others, even if they have not had the same experience themselves. It takes a sophisticated knowledge not only of chord progressions and major and minor keys, but a feel for your own heart and the hearts of others. Kris Angelis has that understanding and the skills and the voice to translate it into lyrics and notes and arrangements that make you stop and listen and say to yourself, I get it, I feel it, I love it.



A singer, a dancer, an actress and a song writer of startling yet gentle talent, Kris Angelis will release her first full album, The Left Atrium, July 29, 2013. I have listened to an advanced copy and let me say that The Left Atrium will make you chuckle, cry and ache with the precision of Kris’s empathetic knowledge of your heart poured out in a rough honey voice and unspoiled arrangements.



Kris has produced two earlier EP’s, Ghost in the Corner and Brief Sounds which presaged the tremendous music talent about to emerge from the huge, competitive talent pool of Los Angeles.



The Left Atrium features 12 songs (and one bonus, surprise cut that you will want to listen to the first time you play the CD) that range from heartache to pure fun. It kicks off with “Cut to the Chase”, which chronicles something we all do – enjoy someone we know is not good for us. With hints of the tango, “Hernandos Hideaway” from Pajama Game and jazz tune “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity, she plays with the music, the lyrics and the listener. It is a certified earworm.



She moves on to “Rhyme or Reason”, again playing with words and combining a tough message with an upbeat piano which is soon joined by percussion. But her voice is front and center, managing to sound both young and wise. Again, the lyrics tell a story of place we have all been – a person in our life who makes no sense at all and will bring us down, but in the meantime…… As she sings, “the only rhyme is in the songs we sing” we nod to both the beat and the sentiment.



She changes tempo and instrumentation with “Not Your Fault”, and the message turns inward. Starting with a deceptively simple percussion line of muted clicks and then a ukulele, Kris sings “You made me foget what I thought I never would, Don’t make me forget you too”. A precise low-key drum line picks up, backed by violins as her voice and her message rises up and carries you with it. “You played me raucous lullabies and drew my dreams when I closed my eyes” soars and then glides down, back to the simple ukulele and clicks. And you want to play it again.



The Left Atrium delivers the promise of its title: Kris Angelis’s rough honey voice and playful-wise lyrics take you into her heart and every song resonates inside yours as it ranges across the musical and emotional landscape but always comes home to the heart. This is an album to put at the top of your playlist and CD stack.



Left Atrium is now available on iTunes and will be released through all the usual sources and www.krisangaelis.com

CD release parties will be 7/28/132 at the Hotel Café in Hollywood and 8/4/13 at Lestat’s in San Diego

by Patrick O'Heffernan - Vents Magazine

In this spectacular edition of the ETS Show we talk with Kris Angelis! We are getting the lowdown on headphones, Hanson and love! We also talk about Kris’s latest album “The Left Ventricle” and learn about PSI. Tons of info, We Want YOU… To Enter The Shell!

Visit Kris Angelis on her Website, Facebook, Sound Cloud, Twitter, and YouTube! Buy Her Jewelery Here!

Get Kris Angelis music on ITUNES! - EntertheShell.com

Sera Roadnight of M T Press is pleased to introduce Kris Angelis‘ brand new single, “Cut To The Chase.”

Based out of Los Angeles, Angelis pulls much of her inspiration from growing up on a farm in Gainesville, Florida, where she first started her love affair with music crafting little songs and singing harmonies with her twin sister. From there, she studied with teachers from the famed Julliard and Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. Throughout all of her years seeking knowledge and diving head first into new challenges, her poetic songwriting and soft-spoken vocals are where she blossoms. Her first full length, debut album, The Left Atrium will be available in July.

The first single off the album, “Cut To The Chase,” is all about wanting something you shouldn’t have. - MusicArtiste.net

Sera Roadnight of M T Press is pleased to introduce Kris Angelis‘ brand new single, “Cut To The Chase.”

Based out of Los Angeles, Angelis pulls much of her inspiration from growing up on a farm in Gainesville, Florida, where she first started her love affair with music crafting little songs and singing harmonies with her twin sister. From there, she studied with teachers from the famed Julliard and Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. Throughout all of her years seeking knowledge and diving head first into new challenges, her poetic songwriting and soft-spoken vocals are where she blossoms. Her first full length, debut album, The Left Atrium will be available in July.

The first single off the album, “Cut To The Chase,” is all about wanting something you shouldn’t have. - MusicArtiste.net

Based out of Los Angeles, Kris Angelis pulls much of her inspiration from growing up on a farm Gainesville, Florida, where she first started her love affair with music crafting little songs and singing harmonies with her twin sister. A theatre performer from a young age, she's studied with teachers from the famed Julliard and Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, dabbled in TV and film acting (even appearing on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Bones), and adds dancing among her long list of talents that make her more than a triple threat. Throughout all of her years seeking knowledge and diving head first into new challenges, her poetic songwriting and soft-spoken vocals are where she blossoms, her first EP "Ghost In The Corner" a perfect example of where her career was heading. Her first full length, debut album, "Left Atrium" out July 2013 shows her abilities have risen to new heights in an exceptional way.

The first single off the album, "Cut To The Chase" is born from an undeniable movement that lies beneath the distinctive drum line. The flicker of the candle bursts to life within the musical folds of the song, all about wanting something you shouldn't have, much like touching a flame knowing that you'll get burned. Kris' vocals soar with a jazz-infused quality throughout the melodically heavy song, with a witty, devil-may-care attitude that adds stunning boldness. - Magic Tree Productions

"The words, the voice, the music it's all good."

"I have music ADD, and get bored easily if the music is 'typical'...and yours isn't which I LOVE! good luck doll!"

"wow! I just took the time to listen to your music, and it is wonderful. Your song writing is incredible. I just downloaded all of the stuff I could find for you."

"It's really nice and laidback music. I feel good when listening to it."

"You are really talented and gifted, I just closed my eyes listening your beautiful voice and texts that really touched my heart !! Your musical universe is a travel book, I felt the same emotions when I read some Jack Kerouac quotes from "on the road" !! You have this magic in you, a rare poetry that heals souls who listen to you, never forget how much your notes reach our minds and hearts !!"


- Myspace

Breakups are bittersweet, and Kris Angelis displays it perfectly in her relatable music video for “Not Your Fault.” In the Damian Horan-directed clip — which RyanSeacrest.com is exclusively premiering — the singer-songwriter looks back at a past relationship by reliving an entire day in her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. Her former lover, who is played by Smallville actor Justin Hartley, doesn’t notice the wistful singer as she goes through her morning routine by his side. The folk-pop singer shows off her quirky personality as she goes about her day singing her upbeat, heartbreak ballad, “It’s not your fault / I know that it’s not mine / it’s all just apart of how we were designed.” In the final scene, the pensive singer fades out of the living room when her then-boyfriend smiles as a new girl walks in. The Los Angeles-based singer has produced two EPs, Brief Sounds and Ghost, and has released her first, full-length album, The Left Atrium, which you can purchase on iTunes. For more information on Kris Angelis, you can check her out on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. - See more at: http://www.ryanseacrest.com/2013/09/25/kris-angelis-not-your-fault/#sthash.8uLj5OxW.dpuf - RyanSeacrest.com