Sometimes, being a music blogger is like playing the lottery. You never know what you will receive. Nor when. Or how. And we often ask ourselves the question: "How could we have missed this artist for so many years?"

This is precisely the question we asked ourselves when we discovered Mathias Gundhus, from Oslo (Norway). But we think we can thank heaven for sending us this angel. And of course, thanks to his label, Toothfairy. Indeed, the label sent us "Your Return", taken from the "Now Would Be a Good Time" EP, out today. Our first instinct, as usual, is to listen to his previous releases on Spotify. And if we go down a little further in his discography, we realize that the artist has been releasing music since 2017. And that he has already been spotted by our friend Rufus at Indie Folk Central. There, we admit that we are so late to the party. So we listened to his entire discography, and we enjoyed every single song. There is absolutely nothing to throw in the trash. Excellent quality, from the first until the last second!

So when we saw that the label had included a link to the EP, we couldn't help but listen to this collection of jewels coming out today. For days. we even shared it with a few close friends, including some members of the IMC Family. And Thomas LaVine, who released a new single today, loved it. And we understand why. The fact that we sent it to Thomas is not innocent. Both artists are in the same emotional indie-folk genre. Both manage to create masterpieces with minimalist things.

First we're going to dwell a bit on "Your Return", which is the single that was initially submitted to us. And even before Mathias started singing, we had this intuition that made me scream in our office: YES! we already told you, when you listen to thousands of tracks per month, for 20 years, 5 seconds are enough to spot a song that will give you goosebumps. And when Mathias' voice appears, the feeling is confirmed: it's gonna be perfect. With delicious vocal harmonies, controlled guitar, banjo in the background, and delicate violin, Mathias is in good company on this song. And when the song ends, there is a feeling of great emptiness. As if we were missing something. To be honest with you, we think we stayed with mouth wide open for about ten seconds wondering if what we had just heard was real. We rarely have this feeling. When we stay with mouth wide open, like an idiots staring at their screen, it means "it's going straight to IMC, our dear indie music fans are gonna love this".

To fill this sensation of a void, we had the curiosity and the audacity to click on the link of the EP, provided by the label. After all, it only takes a few minutes (the EP is probably about twenty minutes in total, but we don't know exactly, because when you love, you don't count). Because bloggers, most of the time, are very busy and their time is precious. Yes, it's funny, because it's the guys who spends 200 hours a month listening to unknown artists who tells you that. But trust us, listening to this entire EP is definitely not a waste of time. We would even say it's the best decision we've made this year so far.

Because "Now Would Be a Good Time" (whose title is perfectly appropriate), includes 5 songs. These are 5 masterpieces. Although we admit to being quite picky when it comes to music, we enjoyed every single second of every single song. We took a kind of a slap in our face. As if the universe was sending us a sign saying "don't give up on IMC, it's worth it". Yes, because in these somewhat tumultuous times (especially in Europe), we need art and beautiful things. These 5 songs can help you take some time for yourself, close your eyes, and escape into a peaceful world that seems so unreachable.

Mathias Gundhus masters everything, from the incredibly detailed writing to the wonderful musical performance, everything in this EP will make you feel better. And after the end of "Something Else", you will want to have another listen. And this EP could quickly become the soundtrack of your next weeks. This guy is a genius.

Reach out to Mathias Gundhus

_________________

Written with love by Niko. You can find more songs like "Your Return" on our "Indie Music" playlist on Spotify.