Milky Chance is a project from humble roots, comprised of Philipp Dausch and Clemens Rehbein, two acquaintances that sought to make music throughout their high school career while living in Kassel, Germany. Over the course of two weeks in 2013, they cut their full-length album, Sadnecessary, in their home studio — a culmination of their previous experience performing in a local band before becoming YouTube sensations with their breakthrough single, “Stolen Dance.” As of October 7th, 2014, “Stolen Dance” has been certified gold, having been digitally sold and streamed over 500,000 times in America. Sadnecessary, put out independently in Europe last year via the band’s own Licthdicht Records, is already a holder of a spot in the Top 10 out of 9 countries. Now, the record is geared up for its North American release on October 14th, 2014 (U.S. release through Republic Records).
Milky Chance’s Sadnecessary is a debut of their hallmark style more than anything else; self-described as melancholy with a positive spin (because you can dance to it — and I have been), the downtrodden drawl of Clemens backed by Philipp’s vocal harmonies are a persistent reminder that the up-tempo strumming and dance beats are underlain by personal accounts of lost loves, moments missed, and longings for things that could have been. Whether or not it was intentional, “Stunner” is the name of the first track on the album, and most notably sets the mood for everything that flows out of your speakers from then on out.
The group has been named by Rolling Stone as one of their “10 Artists You Need to Know Now,” and after now knowing them, I can say that they are not far off. There is something channeled in tracks like “Running,” “Fairytale,” and “Down By The River” that smarts of somber reggae and folk popping and reverberating through the concrete halls of a derelict building. What you hear is clearly unassuming, preferring to bounce around the room you are sitting in — the better to let you discover how catchy and mellow the wake of an album like Sadnecessary can be without coming across as needlessly obtrusive.
What is incredible, at least to me, is that this record was brought to life sans producer or large, studio setup. Milky Chance had played two shows prior to laying down Sadnecessary in a way that was free from industry expectation. Fortunately, relatable things catch on, and so, songs like “Feathery” and “Loveland” hit hard enough to sink in. They are capable of eliciting memories we have all felt in the midst of a blue summer; after drawing to a close, that particular notion about the album demands some reflection. It is no mere chance that Sadnecessary’s accessibility stems from the phenomenon that a good portion of the fabric of influential songwriting is loomed from how despondent and wistful one can get before picking up a guitar, and Milky Chance’s approach to musicianship supports that completely. Bravo!
4/5
