Me And Reas – Bittersweet

It is said that a good pop song is one that takes you out of the earthly vale of tears for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. That’s exactly what happened to Andreas Leopold Jäger. On the day before his 30th birthday, he is standing at the traffic lights, brooding dully over the mighty new number of his life – when the old smasher “Dammit” by Blink 182 comes on the radio. Heard a thousand times, the lines of the lyrics suddenly penetrate the murky fog of this moderately severe life crisis that clouds our hero: “But everybody’s gone and I’ve been here for too long, to face this on my own – well, I guess: this is growing up”. And he startles and thinks to himself: “Hey, that’s exactly how I feel about life right now! Hardly at home, Andreas Leopold Jäger writes (like – fun fact – on every birthday since he turned 16) in one go the anti-birthday song “Thirty”.

That this theme now runs like a red thread through the darned third album of the Nuremberg indie-folk-pop figurehead Me&Reas, was not planned. But as it goes in life: Make a plan in life, and God laughs. “Thirty,” “Confessions,” “All Your Love” or even the old fan fave “The Journey,” which the band re-recorded – in fact, the bulk of the songs on “Bittersweet” revolve around growing up, struggling with adolescence and, in general, this ridiculous event of growing older, which one always tries desperately to grasp.

Andreas Leopold Jäger has always been very good at putting personal things into words and his own emotional world into melodies, which he then shares with the world and in which the listener finds himself. That’s why he once named his band MeANDreas – Ich, Andreas, in short: Me&Reas.

On the brand-new third studio album of the Nuremberg indie-folk-pop troupe Me&Reas, there are eleven songs with which Andreas Leopold Jäger once again recommends himself as a talented indie songwriter with pop appeal. The man not only has a knack for irresistible earworms, but also this wonderfully quiet note of melancholy that always resonates. This unobtrusive combination results in the clear signature sound of Me&Reas. And then again and again these choruses, with which the heart opens wide …

Since “Bittersweet” is released exclusively on vinyl, i.e. LP (and digitally, of course), the format provides two album sides, which are different and thus perfectly reflect what Me&Reas are all about. The six songs on the A-side were created in the studio – loud, clear, powerful, checked out and above all in full-band format. The five numbers on the B-side, on the other hand, were written in the quiet days at home in the living room – quiet and introverted (since there are no drums), but at the same time spontaneous and experimental.

Combined into one album, “Bittersweet” wonderfully fans out the complete musical range of Nuremberg’s indie-folk-pop heroes – and gets to the heart of what Me&Reas are all about: the light and the heavy shake hands. “Bittersweet” in fact: because life is not one-dimensional, but often just sweet and sour.

The tempo is snappy, the hit density is high, the humor is cool as shit. Again Me&Reas manage to make the listener feel like being with Andreas and his gang in the living room or even better at the kitchen table of a shared flat. Everyday experiences become danceable indie-folk-pop pearls that promise adventure and are made for the stages of this world. I’ll put it this way: Andi Jäger and his excellent band, which has faithfully accompanied him for ten years (and for which today more than ever: Five fingers are a fist!).

The program has started, Me&Reas have delivered. The rest must now happen out in the world. Whether on big summer festival stages or in familiar big-city indie clubs, unamplified in the pedestrian zone, cozy in fan living rooms or at another spontaneous acoustic session somewhere in the middle of nowhere: Me&Reas concerts are celebrations where people dance and rave, laugh and cry, sing and jump and everyone – in front of and on stage – is in each other’s arms. At least we don’t know of anyone who hasn’t staggered home after such an evening, wet with sweat, drunk on melody and quite happy …
“Bittersweet” will be released in March 2021 via Uncle M Music in two exciting vinyl colors and digitally. Afterwards, M&R will be on tour throughout Germany – tickets and album pre-order at www.uncle-m.com