Groove-oriented with notes of Trip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Funk, and New Wave in there, the self-titled debut from Baron Minker is an odd duck of an album that miraculously works on a number of levels. Looking for that perfect alternative summer album to counter all the Pop crap crammed into yer ears? Try Baron Minker! Need some new sexy songs that are simultaneously stylish, soothing, and stunning? Try Baron Minker! Want to….y’know what? Howzabout you just try Baron Minker, okay?
But I digress.
The alter ego of songwriter Dane Erik Forst, Baron Minker delves deep into the Groove pool to create something inherently pure and utterly unique. From a seemingly simplistic drum pattern, “Anthem Of The Rich And The Bored” starts it all off and grows and glistens with layers upon layers of sound being added to the mix.
From there, things get more funky, more wild, more everything. “How To Avoid Japan” sounds like some lost Brit Pop from the mid-’00’s (Think Kula Shaker or Kasabian) while “The Cocomo Hum” is akin to that first blast of rays as the sun pierces the horizon as it rises in the morning. It’s just that eye-opening and epic, filled with distorted effects-laden vox to take listeners on an elegant sonic journey like no other.
Think of “The Baron’s Anthem” as an iconic WWE entrance theme in the making or better yet, sort of like that scene in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka when the mentor to our protagonist announces that the ensemble following him around is “…my theme music, every good hero should have some” except instead of bringing the funk on this one, BM lays down some Ian Brown meets Richard Ashcroft solo trippiness.
“Dodgeball” launches into space with a vibrant aural trek that’s expansive and ethereal and later, “Sense Prehensile” wanders in as if it had been playing the entire time as this beats-driven psychedelic number takes listeners on yet another outstanding and fantastical journey.
“Covered In Concrete” is like an acid-soaked invasion with this solitary bass providing a lifeline as swirling electronics and extraterrestrial vox permeate. “EZPZ” is, perhaps, the most straightforward song on here and still manages to defy expected song structure before “Nice Chompers” ends it all with a fitting banger that throws everything AND the kitchen sink into a sonic blender and still manages to sound refreshing within its’ cacophonous walls.
Baron Minker drops on June 5th and can be pre-ordered now by clicking here. For the latest on Baron Minker, head over to the socials by clicking here or here or here.