MC Lars

The Sugarmill, Stoke on Sat 1st Apr 2006

It’s quite hard to describe just what MC Lars (Aka Andrew Nielson) is all about. Self-described as a “post-punk laptop rapper,” twenty four year old Lars has created a completely new genre of music. Often appearing with just his laptop, this time he has brought a band along.

MC Lars returns to the UK after touring last year as an oddly coupled support act to Fightstar. His popularity is rapidly growing on both sides of the Atlantic, fuelled in part by Myspace, and after appearing as compere at Give It a Name last year. Building on the success of the Laptop EP, new album ‘The Graduate’ features guest vocals from Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick, and samples Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’ and ‘Moving’ by Supergrass.

Taking to the stage Lars instantly brings his unique angle to the gig, taking the crowd through a sports class-esque warm up, and between songs offers useful advice on the benefits of good hydration whilst rapping. You certainly won’t see this every day.

While most bands enjoy playing live, Lars launches into each and every song with a look of sheer delight, punching the air to the beat of each track with a grin reminiscent of a kid at Christmas getting that bike they’ve always wanted. As he bounces around the stage high-fiving the crowd at every opportunity, you can tell that Lars doesn’t just enjoy playing live, he lives for it.

After opening track ‘Hurricane Fresh’, Lars goes through a selection of tracks from both the Graduate, and the older Laptop EP. Although a lot of the crowd appear to have turned up for a local support band, Lars instantly draws them into his set, getting them to provide backing vocals on tracks ‘Six Degrees of Kurt Cobain’, and ‘Mr Raven’.

The wry smile that accompanies each track shows off the playfulness that can be clearly seen through his lyrics. He uses his songs to have sly digs at a whole host of people and topics, declaring that Hello Kitty iPod cases and Slipknot binder paper are not punk rock, while another track dismisses internet relationships as false. While some of these lyrics have perhaps resulted in Lars being written off by some as a novelty act, they in fact show a remarkable intelligence. A graduate in English Studies at Stanford University, Lars has also studied at Oxford. The ability to take the piss but in a way that comes across as more good-humoured than offensive is a rare skill.

Perhaps Lars’ biggest track is the fantastic ‘Signing Emo’. Backing vocals are provided by fictional emo band Hearts That Hate, and Lars is once again in top form taking a pop at the growing number of bands who offer nothing new between them. The irony is not lost on Lars - support tonight was provided by a local emo band.

Coming from the self-dubbed iGeneration, Lars is one of a fresh group of artists to take full advantage of the internet, in particular Myspace. New track ‘Download This Song’ takes a topical swipe at the record industry for prosecuting those who download songs for free. Recently the chairman of Lars’ label, Netterk, got a group together to support a family of fans who were being prosecuted by the Recording Industry in America.

Support acts were fairly anonymous, two local bands called Blast Stereos Loud and Cats in the Alley. The latter worth a mention for a particularly impressive cover of ‘Feel Good Inc’, even if they did, at times, sound a bit like Blazing Squad.

You can only see things getting bigger and better for Lars. His shows are a unique experience and come highly recommended. After all, how many people can say they have been to a post-punk laptop rap gig?

article by: Darren Willsher

published: 02/04/2006 13:37



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