MS MR emerged in 2012 but 2013 has been the making of them. Everything happened for them in 2013, and had the Apopcalypse happened not many people would even know who they are. For that reason we’re glad that they survived 2013.
Background History:
Lizzie and Max both hail from New York and they met in college. A production project Max was working on fell apart before its completion leading to him emailing Lizzie who ran a production company called “Neon Gold Records”. One thing lead to another and instead of producing some random artist he ended up producing Lizzie who wanted to develop her own sound. And thus, MS MR was born.
Artist Profile:
Their debut EP Candy Bar Creep Show was released throughout 2012 over tumblr, with a new track published every so often to allow their growing fan base to really appreciate each song for what it was, as well as to hype interest in their debut album. They were the first band to release music in this way and as a whole the EP was well-received by critics.
By releasing the music in this way MS MR allowed the music to speak for itself in that they didn’t really discuss who they were individually and as a group. They did this for two reasons: to hype up the interest in their music and to get their listeners intrigued as well as to make sure that people were interested in their music for their music, and not for the people behind it. It is for this reason that they adopted the ambiguous name MS MR.
Their sound has been compared with Florence and the Machine and Lana Del Rey but they are certainly unique in their own merit. Their sound encompasses haunting vocals and simple melodies whereby Max’s production doesn’t overshadow Lizzie’s sublime voice; MS MR themselves refer to their sound as “Glitch Pop, Soul Fuzz, Electroshock.”
2013 & Their Survival:
2013 saw the release of their debut album Secondhand Rapture which was lauded with critic praise and spawned three singles: Hurricane, Fantasy and Think Of You. All of these failed to chart in the UK, and Secondhand Rapture charted poorly at 65 but the band didn’t let this faze them; their music was out there and people were beginning to listen to it.
In fact, their music was playlisted on Radio 1, Bones was included in a high-profile trailer for the third season of Game Of Thrones and several other songs were features in Pretty Little Liars, Cold Justice and Greys Anatomy. Even Jay-Z stated he was a fan of their music and the band are eager to work with him someday, along with Beyoncé.
But despite the rather poor chart performance of Secondhand Rapture, it was understandably highly praised by fans and critics alike who complimented it for its mixture of sounds; Think Of You is perhaps the most chart-friendly song on the collection; Bones and Hurricane are simple and haunting; and Salty Sweet brings about a folk infusion to help keep their album varied. The Guardian described them as “the first superstars of chillwave.” The album did however perform better in Australia where it reached number 22 and Germany where it charted at 35 which shows that they are also building a larger international fanbase.
The band also toured the world throughout 2013 playing gigs in the UK, America and the Netherlands. They played some festivals such as Reading and Leeds and their joint show with Haim in Austin, Texas has sold out. Another thing which MS MR did in 2013 was that they came out, so to speak, in that they began to discuss who they were individually as well as together. This allowed their growing fanbase to really connect with both them and their music.
MS MR have had an interesting 2013 to say the least; they released their debut collection and their fanbase has grown throughout the year. All of their performances, along with the high-profile plays on American television will hopefully result in more and more people taking to their sound and helping to grow their ever-expanding fanbase even more and make 2014 an even bigger year for them.
We’re glad that MS MR survived the apopcalypse because for them the only way to go is up.
(Originally posted on Vada Magazine on October 14th, 2013. Original link: http://vadamagazine.com/14/10/2013/entertainment/ms-mr-apopcalypse)
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