The Best You've Never Heard Of But Seriously Need To Check Out/ First Artist Spotlight

Hey guys! For my first artist spotlight I would like to talk about a band that I have deemed "the best band you've never heard of, but seriously need to check out".  I am talking about the Austrian band Kontrust. 
I first found out about this band earlier this year when their video for the song "Sock n' Doll"(there is a link to the video at the end of this post) appeared on my Youtube feed.  I clicked on the link and was blown away by this band.  This band is one of the reasons why I love Napalm Records, the label to which they are currently signed, because they have a knack for finding unique and original bands and Kontrust is a perfect example.  They are heavy but poppy at the same time and I feel like they can appeal to a wide audience.  After the video finished I immediately replayed the it, I was hooked on this band.
The band is a septet with two vocalists, two guitars, bass, drums, and percussion.  I really like how the drums and percussion work together.  Its not like they have a drummer who records some percussion on the album, they have a separate drummer and a separate percussion player, this adds a lot of color to the band because it allows the drummer to keep a steady beat and the percussionist fill over him adding more depth to the band's sound.
The most unique thing about this band has to be their use of two vocalists.  Now I know what you're thinking, "Zach how can this be unique? Lots of bands use two vocalists."  You're right but I've never heard two vocalists be used as unique as this.  The band's vocalists are Agata Jarosz and Stefan Lichtenberger, now most bands with a male and female vocalist will usually have one sing the verse and one sing the chorus or they will trade back and forth during either of those, but I've noticed that Kontrust uses their vocalists as actual instruments.  What I mean by that is when either Agata or Stefan is not singing the lyrics to the song they will sometimes sing a melodic line in the background to go along with the melodyhttp://www.kontrust.info/en/.  The first time you hear it you think are they using electronics in the song? The answer is no, its one of the vocalists singing in the background, it just sounds like their using electronics.
The best example is in their song "Sock n' Doll" at 3:33 Agata sings a melodic line a capella, once the rest of the band comes in around 3:35 she continues to sing that same line.  It creates the impression that there is a synthesizer playing in the background when really it is Agata.

Here is the video for "Sock n' Doll"(I know I said earlier that the band was a septet and there are only six members on stage, they added another after this video and use him in live shows, also sock puppets? Freaking awesome!)

Now technically Kontrust is labeled a crossover band (I just call them a rock band), meaning they will use different styles in their songs which I think is really cool.  In "Sock n' Doll" they have instances of Rock, Reggae, and Pop. 

In conclusion Kontrust is a delightful mix of Rock and Pop, their songs are super catchy and are best played at loud volume while driving in your car (as are most songs).  I think can appeal to a wide audience, so I will say that if you are a fan of good music then you will like this band.  Sometimes their lyrics can get a little weird, but when you get past that you have a band that, in my opinion, needs to be wider known because I can totally hear some of their songs being played on the radio. 

If you would like to find out more about this band you can visit their website at http://www.kontrust.info/en/ and pick up their new album Second Hand Wonderland which is currently out on Napalm Records.  

Also check out some more videos from them below:

Video for the song "The Butterfly Defect" off Second Hand Wonderland

Video for the song "Bomba" off Time to Tango (yes I know they are dressed in lederhosen its apparently what they wear when they play live)

Enjoy guys and I'll talk to you next post.  Remember if you have any requests of a band you want me to talk about or an album you want me to review, leave a comment or tweet me @zachktheanimal

Thanks!