Andrew K-Rock - Man In Trouble

Hear The Track Here

So when are we (men, that is) not in trouble? Andrew K Rock is another new name to me, this time from Soundclick and Russia. Can't say I've reviewed that many Russian musicians although I'm certain there are a lot of them hanging around on the sites that I do but for some reason we don't connect that often. As you know, I do have my preferences so when I saw - while downloading the track - that 'Dark alt ballad turns into drive PopRock (like t.A.T.u & Rammstein)'. Now, like a lot of men I get stick for liking Tatu but hey whatever you may say about their marketing and/or style, they do know how to turn out a capable track. Rammstein, on the other hand, have long been a favourite of mine, along with a great many other German/European metal bands.

So I was a bit 'hell yeah!!!'...

It's funny how much of a gap there is between what a musician perceives his music to be, and the reality the listener deals with. To be blunt, had I not known that this is influenced by Tatu and Rammstein, I could never - in a million years - have guessed it. Truth is, I think anyone would be hard pressed to pull any meaningful references out of this track, which has a familiar sound to me and could even be made by either Ejay or Magix software. Not that I have anything against such 'instant' music programs, but it takes a bit more than cutting and pasting phrases to make a coherent music track, even an experimental one. So, to me, Man In Trouble sounds like anyone's early work, too many ideas and not enough focus on the ideas that do actually work.

I mention these programs because there are definitely samples here that I am familiar with, because I used to be a Moderator on Ejay's forums. Moreover, the kinda/sorta structure of the track sounds like someone laying sounds into a grid, including the obligatory old skool vocal cutups so beloved a few years ago. Now I hate to do this to somebody, especially someone who I have just met so I felt compelled to check the other tracks on his Soundclick page. Especially seeing as the guy said he was excited about seeing a review... Awake has a bit more going for it, as does 2012 but the problems that dog Man In Trouble are equally as evident. All of which will, of course, get better with time and exposure to other artists in the same field. In the meantime, I would suggest that Andrew listen to some of the competition he faces.

Lots of ideas, not much action.