Hating Jay Rodger would be like kicking an Andrex puppy; his sincere, tender and totally free-to-stream music makes him incredibly likeable. 

The UK singer songwriter’s debut release, the Bunker EP, is a handful of calm, pensive, and delicate tracks. Jay’s intricate poetic phrasing, gentle acoustic backdrops and echoey vocal harmonies make for a beautifully original first release, which sits comfortably between the sound of Jose Gonzales, Imogen Heap and The Shins.

Calm, still and quaint, the Bunker EP is about as aggressive as a cup of chamomile tea, but it creates a captivating heady atmosphere through and through. Tracks like Rebel’s Wings, Come To Realise and Broke The Surface demonstrate this perfectly with their melancholy overtones and subtle piano accompaniment. Even the quickest pace song My Dear is about as hard hitting as a ghost on valium. This was meant to be a relaxing affair.

The Bunker EP also features a short interlude which is an unfathomable-part-harmony acapella piece, similar to Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek but without the controversial vo-coder (similar to auto-tune).

Throughout the release, inane lyrical clichés are cast aside for more poetic sentiments: “Oh it seems, you’ve never been big enough for dreams or magazines, but the way you speak, the way you think makes fools of kings and queens.”

The Bunker EP is a resonant experience and an astounding first entry from Jay Rodger. It comes without any pretensions, ego or dissonance to endure. It’s simply fifteen minutes and eighteen seconds of pure acoustic bliss.

Outside the Bunker EP Jay has also released a single, Moments Of Silk, which has been transposed into a dub/electronic style by producers Aeuria, Soular, and Bruised Sky via City By Night Records.

The Bunker EP is available to stream for free here:
http://jayrodger.bandcamp.com/album/bunker-ep-2

The remixes of Moments of Silk are available here:
http://citybynight.bandcamp.com/album/jay-rodger-moments-of-silk-cbnr009