Stream Still Parade Concrete Vision (Stereogum Premiere)

Stream Still Parade Concrete Vision (Stereogum Premiere)

Still Parade is the project of Berlin-based singer, songwriter, and producer Niklas Kramer. The project began as an enigma with some speculation as to who was behind it with the release of his debut single “Anchors,” a mystery that was unveiled along with the superb Fields EP. Since then Kramer has evolved his sound, audaciously wandering throughout different soundscapes and genres to cobble something together that is all solely his. Last year, we had the pleasure of sharing “07:41.” It seemed to be a one-off single, but little did we know it would be the lead single from his new album, Concrete Vision, out this week. Since then we’ve heard the followup “Walk In Park” and the two couldn’t be more wonderfully disparate.

It turns out those two songs mark the ends of a vast, varied spectrum on the album. The slowly unfurling hip-hop lean of the opener “Seasons” glides into the folk rock of “Walk In Park” effortlessly in the same way the penultimate funk-tinged, electro-warped grooves of “Morning Light” melt into the synth-soaked new wave of the closer “True Love.” Kramer’s tender, floating near-falsetto melds the myriad aesthetics through it’s effortlessness and introspection because his lyrics are nothing to gloss over. This is an album you can’t settle into; it will unexpectedly, delightfully tousle your ears just when you think you’ve got it figured out. Kramer displays a deftness in marrying genres that eludes many other artists. Listen for yourself. Stream Concrete Vision in it’s entirety below.

Concrete Vision is out 6/10. Pre-order it here.

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