"When it rains and rains, it rains hard / It’s never any different / Can’t tell how any feel about me..."
Grimson's surreal yet exquisitely earthbound pop art indie "I Hate Myself Now" has been around a long time conceptually anyway. The 24 year old Swedish American singer-songwriter and animator, who grew up in New York but currently has ties to Berlin, originally penned the song when he was only 16. They say timing is everything or maybe it is fate or having the spiritual desire (and monetary wear with all) to create the song and video in Grimson's particular way but it is, to me, perfectly realized. I have said before, here on American Pancake, that I prefer to hear songs before viewing any video attached to it because I like to see what I imagine myself in my head as I am a visual person but, in this case, I delved right into the video and was not disappointed in the least. The song and video are one, complementing each other in fascinating ways.
"I Hate Myself Now", from the onset, with it's pizzicato beginning feels dramatic and cinematic. When those notes are reflected on sort of surf punk guitar tones, with big downbeats framing the musical narrative it kind of felt like chamber pop meets the Pixies. Grimson's vocal aesthetic bathed in a kind of 70's pop feel are endearing right away. He has a beautiful voice, emotional and cool. The song side-shifts into more orchestrated pop, really elegant stuff and Grimson's ability to blend light indie surf punk with orchestrated pop in a kind of Weezer-esque way is beautifully sad and moving. The video, well, you will see for yourself.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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I am a 24 year old Swedish/American songwriter and animator - grew up in NYC. I try to weave animated narratives though my songs, and this project, Grimson, is an ongoing music/film thing. I work in a hotel in Berlin.
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