The Migrant is the moniker of Danish musician Bjarke Bendtsen, which, intrinsically, is what he is—a migrant. Although Bendtsen is from Copenhagen, he is also a sporadic resident of Austin, Texas, a place he says "has everything a Dane needs" and where he even has a second backing band (for US tours), the first being in his natal city. He has been performing as The Migrant for five years now and has four albums to show for it, the latest being Flood, which was released this past January.
Flood is essentially a guitar record, something that is, unfortunately, becoming more and more archaic in the constantly changing world of indie rock. Throughout the album, Bendtsen skillfully draws from his colorful palette of influences—rock, folk, blues, psychedelia—to produce captivating songs that range from soothing ("Flood", "Silence", and "Row Row") to rocking ("Belly of a Man", "Water", and "Tiger"), and ones that find a happy balance between the two ("The Climber" and "Give Up").
While listening to Flood, a couple of my favorite bands/musicians come to mind. Bendtsen's nimble fingerpicking and tender vocals alongside the driving percussion on "The Fixer" wouldn't sound out of place on a Dodos record, while his occasional quivering voice and falsetto tend to give off Thom Yorke vibes, which would make sense seeing as Radiohead is one of his main influences.
While listening to Flood, a couple of my favorite bands/musicians come to mind. Bendtsen's nimble fingerpicking and tender vocals alongside the driving percussion on "The Fixer" wouldn't sound out of place on a Dodos record, while his occasional quivering voice and falsetto tend to give off Thom Yorke vibes, which would make sense seeing as Radiohead is one of his main influences.
Similarities and influences aside, Flood is an excellent indie rock album from start to finish with equal doses of folk and psychedelia injected into it. The fact that The Migrant isn't already flooding the blogosphere with his new album is beyond me, but he's got the perfect chance to change that this upcoming weekend in Austin, where Bendtsen will not only be playing with his local backing band at SXSW, but he will have a handful of songs featured in an independent film called Limbo that will be showing tomorrow (March 18) at the festival.
Check out the tour dates on his website or Facebook page and stream the entire album for free below. To listen to his first three albums in full, head on over to The Migrant's BandCamp page.
Check out the tour dates on his website or Facebook page and stream the entire album for free below. To listen to his first three albums in full, head on over to The Migrant's BandCamp page.
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