Whatever happened to Ratatat? To jog memories, that was the electronica-driven guitar group who exploded onto the indie and electronic scene in the late 00s and filled hipster bars up and down both coasts with cutting-edge yet familiar guitar sounds. That trend seems to have fizzled a bit, but there’s a new guitar/electronic marriage on the scene now in the form of Meanr Mynr, and he’s got a new album releases just in time to fill hipster bars once again this summer.
Meanr Mynr is a solo act based out of Denver who started playing guitar as a teen and has done a lot of studio and production work for other bands. He became influenced by these other acts both on the guitar end of the spectrum, picking up more classical techniques to merge with his own blues fusion sound, but also in the realms of hip hop and electronica.
Meanr Mynr’s is called The Compound, and it’s definitely clear from the album’s first single, “Blasé”, that he’s taken his newfound interest in electronic music and run with it. Having named one of his major hip hop/EDM influences as The Glitch Mob, it’s easy to see how Meanr Mynr’s own drum machine work mirrors The Glitch Mob and other hip hop/electronic crossover production. From this track it’s also clear that Meanr Mynr, real name Reggie Sudduth is somewhat of a guitar virtuoso, combining the afore-mentioned glitchy hip hop beats with blues guitar in a way that’s surprising but also totally works as a cohesive song. 
As Meanr Mynr continues to experiment with his sound and the different electronic elements he wants to insert, it’s clear that he has the diversity and vision to take his project beyond the trends. The Compound released on May 19 and is available to stream or buy on Meanr Mynr’s Bandcamp page.
