I became of a fan of Dräger through The Midnight Hollow. Vocalist, Spencer Draeger has ventured off on his own to form Dräger and has seemed to pick up where TMH might have or could have gone.
I was stoked to find out last year that Dräger was still making music. He’s now a one man band and according to his website, Dräger is now behind the helm of it all. Handling 100% of the writing, the performing, the producing and mixing from his home studio in Brookly, NY. He’s even handling the responsibilities of writing, directing, and editing the videos as well “to fulfil an undiluted vision all the way through,” he says.
With “The Villain You Need” (released 3-February 2021), the infectious bass drum and dreamy 80s synth track, whisks me off to my favourite era in music, the 80s, without all the Aqua Net hairspray and cliches. What is clutch about this track is that as reminiscent it is of that retro sound, it is steadfast and solid in a sound that is futuristic. Light years beyond what most 2021 artists are doing.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Spencer’s voice is a combo Steve Kilby from The Church, Daniel Ash from Love and Rockets, Andrew Eldritch of Sisters of Mercy, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus with a little dash of David Bowie. Spencer’s voice compliments the music and brings the emotions of the lyrics to life as both “villain” and “hero”.