Esteban´s

Esteban’s is the solo-project of Christoph Jarmer, who is also guitarist of Austrian indie-heroes Garish. He combines indie-folk with coltish pop and adds a slightly Mediterranean flair.

Finding oneself might be a long, troublesome path down a rocky road. Or a couple of delicate songs. Four years after his debut album “Serenity” Austrian singer-songwriter Christoph Jarmer publishes his new record “IR”.

“IR” stands for “in Rebellion” – a rebellion that is not understood as a political, but a very personal one. An acoustic trip into a man’s self-reflection sounds demanding, the 11 songs, however, are pleasingly relaxed and laid-back. Elaborate guitar picking and atmospheric strings serve as melodic base, along Jarmer’s mellow voice tells stories about failure, success, life, love and everything in between.

Emotive lines such as “Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: a failure.” (Not A Whit Better) merge with skillfully unobtrusive melodies to form a big picture that is both: nonchalant and yet very intimate.

“IR” is a moving, but in no way cheesy piece of music. In a world as loud and hasty as ours, an album as tender and thoughtful might be an outsider – or just the right kind of positive exception.