"RAGER's songs inhabit a fragile and magical space between slick, pitch. corrected pop and close-to-the-mic, intimate indie. the arrangements are spacious and atmospheric... my brain puts the sound on a grid between young marble giants, dean blunt, and fever ray, but i'm old maybe there are some better reference points. it doesn't matter, the result is that rare album of chill electronic pop that can soothe your soul while punching you directly in the gut. RAGER employs minimal drum machines, simple synths, gentle glitches, guitars, electric pianos, and swirling layers of both raw effected vocals to build a neon sonic snowglobe. they keep it texturally interesting while avoiding the temptation to fill up too much space."
(November 2023, Chosen Family Presents)
Photo by Thomas Roeschlein 2023
written, produced, performed, and played by RAGER
"it's a gorgeous vibe, but in this economy we don't survive on vibes alone. there are hooks, many hooks - a lot of these tracks turn into unexpected earworms. there's a bjorkyness (bjorkishness?) to the way borrer sings meandering vocal lines that will suddenly hit you with an ultra-catchy melodic fragment. then there are the lyrics... RAGER has the songwriter's gift of being able to seamlessly move between poetically specific imagery and universally relatable refrains, all with a general sense lightheartedness. they'll name drop sheryl crow and alanis morissette before throwing you for a lyrical loop, or latch onto a simple phrase that resonates with repetition like "i thought you were one of the good ones."
"presence is a present is a record that's moving, beautiful, and most importantly honest. if you happen to know borrer, then you know that the energy captured on these tracks is an uninhibited reflection of the person who made them. no pretension, no algorithm-chasing or derivative mimicry, just the sound of someone who's taken the time to genuinely create their own expressive universe of sound. personally, that's all i care to hear these days."
(November 2023, Chosen Family Presents)
mastered by Matthew Cullen
Photo by Peter Galgani
Presence is a Present was performed at the Avalon Lounge in its entirety on Wednesday, November 15th, 2023
Photos by Peter Galgani
