Loverman

About

" These folk songs make you want to love forever. "

James De Graef has been seen playing the tuba in brass bands, in the Belgian band Shht but also behind the scenes in the cinema, dubbing animated movies like ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘The Incredibles’ into Dutch. He’s also devoted himself to electronica, post-punk and metal, has been the bassist and then frontman of the synthpop band Shht, before putting the Loverman costume on. Under this alter ego, born in the aftermath of a sentimental break-up, the Brussels-based singer-songwriter lays his deep voice over folk melodies as haunted as luminous.

On ‘Lovesongs’, his debut album, Loverman exposes his feelings to the daylight. Between love declarations and heart cries, his songs explore disillusions and passions. As a disciple of legends such as Leonard Cohen or Scott Walker, the Belgian deal carefully in words and poetry, with ultra-sophisticated atmospherics that should please Bill Callahan’s or Bertrand Belin’s fans, this new indie-folk bright young thing is emerging as a voice to listen and follow.

Carried by a sepulchral timbre, the eleven tracks wrapped under the ‘Lovesongs’ cover assert themselves with astonishing simplicity. There are no superfluous arrangements nor long speeches. Every word is weighed and considered. Under the Loverman cape, James De Graef produces a sound full of purity. The strength of his music lies in this minimalism: a formula without artifice, but truly sparkling.