MC Lars

MC Lars is an American rapper; his songs cover such subjects as the written work of Edgar Allan Poe, Moby Dick, and the music genre of Emo also. For a long time now I've been following his work and have in fact loved everything that the man has come up with thus far. Real name Andrew Robert Nielson, MC Lars was born in 1982 and has been using the MC Lars stage name now since 1999.

MC Lars creates post-punk laptop rap (his words, not mine), his sound is full of energy and the music the man creates always has plenty to offer. To date MC Lars has released four studio albums and an EP also, a fifth album is set for release in 2008 however under the title of 'This Gigantic Robot Kills'. No further information about the fifth MC Lars album has yet been given, the official MC Lars website purely states that the album is coming in 2008 though so it can be expected anytime. The following is a list of the MC Lars releases that there have been so far been:

- Nothing to Fear (1999)
- Insectivorous (2000)
- Radio Pet Fencing (2003)
- The Laptop EP (2004)
- The Graduate (2006)

If MC Lars fantastic back-catalogue is anything to go by then 'This Gigantic Robot Kills' is sure to offer plenty. I've not heard the first two albums from MC Lars but having listened to and loved the last three in the collection I have full faith in the man to once more come up with the goods. For the first three releases MC Lars was actually going under the name of MC Lars Horris, the dropping of the word 'Horris' was I feel a wise move on behalf of the man.

To see MC Lars live truly is a fantastic experience, sometimes he has the backing of a band and others it's just him and his laptop. The best time to see the man is without doubt when he's with his band, to see him playing purely with his laptop is a good bit of fun but the real atmosphere certainly comes when he has the backing of his band also.

Having not heard the first two MC Lars albums I shall here focus on the last three MC Lars releases, the two excellent albums of MC Lars ('Radio Pet Fencing' and 'The Graduate') and the brilliant Laptop EP release also. MC Lars is a graduate of Stanford University and his intelligence certainly shines through in his lyrical creation.

The Laptop EP was the first release I heard from MC Lars; it's a seven track release of music and does I feel show MC Lars at his very best. The best tracks from this EP are I feel 'Signing Emo', 'Mr Raven', and 'iGeneration' also. All three of these tracks are absolutely excellent and never is there a dull moment with the fantastic music of MC Lars.

We live in very much an electronic age, 'iGeneration' explores this idea and the lyrical content of the track looks into the fact that modern technology is currently taking over the lives of many. Not only are the lyrics brilliant but the track also is fantastically catchy, such a fine piece of music is 'iGeneration' and never for a moment does the brilliant music of this one disappoint me. As with many MC Lars tracks 'iGeneration' samples a track and the chosen track here is Piebald's 'American Hearts'. This is an excellent sample to have used, it truly is a brilliant piece of music and every element of this track is I feel absolutely exceptional.

'Mr Raven' draws upon Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven', it is in fact based upon the poem and also uses a sample of the Brand New track 'Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't'. The sample is well constructed in the sound, 'Mr Raven' is probably my favourite track that MC Lars has ever created and truly is a brilliant piece of music. Many times I've seen MC Lars perform the track live now, never has he disappointed me with this one and always in fact he was impressed hugely.

'Signing Emo' is another incredibly fine creation of music, in this track the Hearts That Hate hit 'Cry Tonight' is sampled. What's most amusing about this one is that Hearts That Hate is actually a fictional band made up by MC Lars for the purpose of this track. The 'band' has a website online, a Myspace page also where an acoustic version of 'Cry Tonight' can be listened to but the truth is that no such band has ever existed. The track is excellent, the 'sample' is fantastic and most definitely this is a track that I personally greatly enjoy listening to.

'The Laptop EP' is I feel the finest MC Lars release there ever has been, both 'iGeneration' and 'Signing Emo' also later went on to feature in the MC Lars album 'The Graduate'. All seven of the tracks from the EP are excellent and just for reference here are a list of them:

1. iGeneration
2. UK Visa Versa
3. Hurricane Fresh
4. Signing Emo
5. STAT-60
6. Straight Outta Stockholm
7. Mr. Raven

The 2003 release 'Radio Pet Fencing' was the second record I heard from MC Lars, I was so impressed with The Laptop EP when I heard it that I searched out further work from MC Lars and found this. The album features twelve tracks and is I feel another strong collection of music. 'Yes I Am An Alien' and 'Rapbeth' are my favourite tracks from this album, both have plenty to offer and each of these two are highly catchy pieces of music. Many of the tracks from this album are in fact brilliant but these are the two in particular that appealed to me most.

The album is no longer commercially available, it was however originally released through Truck Records and still can be downloaded here. I thoroughly recommend giving this one a download, it is free after all and I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be highly impressed with what you find here. The reason the album is no longer commercially available is as a result of legal issues, the samples were not cleared and therefore the album can no longer be commercially sold. The following are the twelve tracks that feature on the 'Radio Pet Fencing' album:

1. Hey That's Me
2. Yes I Am An Alien
3. Atom You're Awesome
4. Certified
5. Mr. Wormsly's Addiction
6. The Séance at Harpers Ferry
7. My Rhymes Rhyme
8. Rapbeth (Foul Is Fair)
9. Make Way for Ducklings
10. Humphrey the Whale
11. Sarah
12. Escape From Robot Island

So finally I come to 'The Graduate', the 2006 release from MC Lars. Released through the Nettwerk label, 'The Graduate' is a fourteen track album of music and as I have already stated it features two tracks that were also featured on 'The Laptop EP' in the form of 'Signing Emo' and 'iGeneration'. Whilst most of the tracks on this album are excellent there are a few tracks here to avoid I feel, particularly 'Roommate From Hell' which really is a dreadful piece of music. In 'Roommate From Hell' MC Lars collaborate with the nerdcore titan MC Chris, the sound created here really is a great cause for irritation - particularly the whiny tones of MC Chris. This one doesn't work out too well, tracks such as 'Download This Song', 'Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock', and 'Rapgirl' are however absolutely brilliant.

'Download This Song' definitely starts this album on a high, the track features Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup fame and certainly it is a well put across piece of music I feel. The track was made available for download on the MC Lars Myspace page long before the release of the album, Jaret Reddick has many times spoken out about how he does not mind fans downloading his bands albums. This track here looks at the idea that downloading music is where the future lies for music, 'It's the new artist model, file transfer complete' states Jaret Reddick here and he may well have a point. As time goes by music downloads are becoming more and more popular, instead of buying albums from high street shops such as HMV people are now instead choosing to download from iTunes and other such online retailers. This track has good lyrics, it's a catchy piece of music also and quite possibly one of the best track introductions of all time.

'Rapgirl' is MC Lars exploration of the issue of love, it's a well put together construction of music about how he fell for a female MC who didn't return the interest. Unrequited love is here the chosen subject, it works well and is I feel one of the better album tracks. 'Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock' is another good one for its lyrical content, it's amusing to listen to but the guitars also are heavy here and this is an exceptionally powerful piece of music. The progression of the track is excellent, instrumentally the track has plenty to offer and the lyrics of MC Lars certainly never disappoint here.

'The Graduate' is an excellent album from MC Lars, as well as featuring collaborations with MC Chris and Jaret Reddick, other names that appear here are Ill Bill and punk band The Matches. It's an energetic album of music, it's not the best MC Lars release but many of the tracks here offer plenty. The MC Chris track is a definite low point of the album, I'd still recommend giving it a listen though as it is I feel still a decent album of music. Here are the tracks that feature on this one:

1. Download This Song
2. Roommate From Hell
3. 21 Concepts
4. Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock
5. Rapgirl
6. Generic Crunk Rap
7. Ahab
8. iGeneration
9. If I Had A Time Machine That Would Be Fresh
10. Internet Relationships
11. Space Game
12. Dialogue
13. Six Degrees Of Kurt Cobain
14. Signing Emo

Well, there's not much more to say really. I've seen MC Lars many times live and the man is hugely talented. I've seen MC Lars perform alongside a number of different bands; in support of Fightstar, Bowling For Soup, and Simple Plan, as a compère at the Give It A Name festival, and also headlining a number of shows at such UK locations as the Tunbridge Wells Forum and The Barfly in London also. I'd certainly recommend checking out an MC Lars live show, always you can expect energy in abundance and a high level of talent displayed also.

MC Lars is still only 25, he's achieved plenty in his life already however and I'm sure that he'll go on to do a lot more also. 2008 looks set to be an excellent year for MC Lars, only time shall tell as to what the 'This Gigantic Robot Kills' album will offer but I get the distinct feeling that it will ultimately be something really rather excellent.

MC Lars I love and respect you, may you have a long and fruitful career ahead of you and I look forward to hearing plenty of excellent MC Lars tracks/albums in the not too distant future.