NEW YORK Robin Mookerjee, an Indian-American singer songwriter who was a part of the late-'80s indie scene with the band Bleak House, has returned to music with "Miserablism," an independently recorded cd released on 9/1/20007 and available through the cdbaby online retailer.
This release aims at a distinct type of fan who follows dark, melodic pop music with brooding lyrics. Such a fan would probably listen to The Cure, Depeche Mode, newer bands such as Pulp or Keane and even a few recent American bands like Interpol or The Shins. These bands (and fans) have been called "miserablists" after the title of a Pet Shop Boys track satirizing the trend.
True to this tradition, Robin Mookerjee's cd has a pervasive theme of loss and yearning and musical styles that echo the dream pop, synth pop, and jangle pop of the '80s.
Robin Mookerjee
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
917-593-6050
Biography: In the late '80s, Robin was the leader of the indie band Bleak House in Philadelphia. Back then, with REM just getting started, The Smiths still barely known, and bands like New Order widely hated because they did dance music, he wrote and sang intricate jangly guitar pop. Bleak House had lyrics you couldn't make out and wild hair - it was the '80s.
The band never rose to the corporate level, so Robin took a career left turn and became a college professor, teaching poetry and literature in New York City.
But he could never leave music behind, and followed alternative pop with fierce devotion, learning the new styles. He's back in music now with a more accessible sensibility. His music combines the styles of the '80s - jangly, danceable, or lush and dreamy - with yearning, poetic lyrics. It borrows from the sincerity of today's Britrock bands (like Coldplay), but looks back to the stylish and quirky pop of the postpunk era (like The Cure).
Oh - and as the cd title ("Miserablism") suggests - "Walking On Sunshine" this isn't.
Description: Bright, tuneful songs that recall the jangly, dreamy, or danceable styles of the '80s. Poetic lyrics full of yearning and loss. Dark, alternative pop at its best.
Asian-American Songwriter Releases CD: "Miserablism"
