The internet presents: MS MR
Lily Le drops everything to find out who a band are while listening to the radio... NO IT'S NOT THAT DAFT PUNK SONG THAT IS ALWAYS ON
During a week’s worth of listening to the radio an average of 0-3 new songs make me drop everything, frown a little in an effort to identify the song / artist, then fiddle a little with the time bar on the listen-again player to figure out what exactly the wonderful noise is.
Last week this came in the form of MS MR, a New York Duo whose debut album Secondhand Rapture is set for release on the 14th May. As their rereleasedsingle “Hurricane” burst onto the airwaves, the creepy intro of what resembles a slowed down version of a knife being sharpened was attention grabbing enough within a few seconds.
The vocals of Lizzy Plapinger smoothly drip off the dark and slow musical bed. True to pop music, they are definitely the forefront of MS MR’s style rather being given an equal weight with the other instruments. This is no bad thing. In a time saturated with Adele / Winehouse-esque vocals, it is kind of nice to go back to a good American pop accent but with more grit than Taylor Swift-type vocals. Crudely, MS MR have been compared to Lana and Florence but personally I’d add a bit of Paramore and Wild Beasts in the mix.
“Hurricane” is definitely the highlight of Secondhand Rapture, being the right mix of mystery, an apathetic kind of sadness, and a musical depth that alot of pop songs compromise on in order to build a good level of catchiness. This depth is a vibe which runs through the whole album and is probably thanks to the lovely way which Plapinger floats over Hershenow’s production, both of which quieten and reflect, or suddenly burst into noise (probably the reason for the Florence comparisons) at the right times.
Other highlights include the way which the word ‘buuurn’ is sung on “Dark Woo Wop”, and “Salty Sweet” which has a hidden darkness behind its poppy façade.
It will be interesting to see the audience which MS MR will draw in. Slightly too poppy for the ‘indie-guitar’ fans, maybe not poppy enough to become as mainstream as Lana; they’re not the most original band around at the moment but Secondhand Rapture brings a temporary refreshing break to the table that many artists currently do not.
