Esser

Sporting an enormous psychobilly quiff whose radical Eraserhead contours made him instantly recognizable, Ben Esser arrived on the solo scene in 2009, yet his sound proved even more distinctive. Eschewing the hipster irony then in vogue, the album Braveface delivered an unapologetically exuberant pop statement that fused ’90s Brit-pop with buoyant electro while riding nonchalant Cockney vocals. Raised just beyond London’s boundaries in Southeast Essex, where a drummer brother and music-teacher father surrounded him with instruments, Esser turned to records and tapes in his pre-teen years to offset suburban monotony. That early fixation on songs soon evolved into hands-on home recording and live performance. After a fleeting taste of wider attention drumming for the London dance-rock trio Ladyfuzz, he took time to locate his own voice, drawing from an eclectic palette that included Zapp & Roger, Daniel Johnston, and, above all, Damon Albarn. Having self-produced the debut single “I Love You” and its equally catchy successor “Headlock,” the 23-year-old issued Braveface via Transgressive Records.