Is Michael Cera the DIY indie hero we’ve been waiting for?

BY RYAN BASSIL

The world of independent music used to have heroes; people like Kimya Dawson, R Stevie Moore, and Albert Hammond JR who wore button badges for obscure political causes on their corduroy jackets, grew their hair long, and released records that sounded like they were recorded under the ocean.

In recent years, though, the idea of an indie hero has been sidelined; it’s cooler to be sponsored by a drinks company than it is to self-release an eighteen track cassette tape with hand-drawn artwork and a secret track where you perform a mumblecore reenactment of your favourite sketch from The Tracey Ullman show. But, and this is the important thing to remember in the world of independent music, not being cool is being cool. 

This photo is one reason why permanently baby-faced actor, Michael Cera, is poised to become this generation’s next indie hero. But the other reason is because he’s released an eighteen track album; most of which involves the sort of incoherent sounds and reverb that pushed Adam Green inexplicably into the hearts of girls that carry tote bags.

The album appeared online today and could potentially launch Michael Cera into relevance in a way not seen he was photoshopped into a tatted-up bro by Hipster Runoff.

I would recommend listening to the album above but a lot of it is mostly him banging around on a piano, pressing keys, sounding like something George Michael Bluth and Gob attempted to create as a soundtrack for Gob’s magic show.

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons