Kraus

There are (at least) two artists named Kraus: (1) Will Kraus is a young one-man band who is shouting and drumming his way to ecstatic catharsis. As a kid, Kraus dabbled in pop-punk goofballs like Good Charlotte before becoming obsessed with Linkin Park, even signing up to be a member of their fan club. Though Kraus now kindly describes the rap-metal pioneers’ music as “non-nuanced,” he allows that their brand of hyper-angst—served with a side of melancholy—helped him define his formative identity. His Linkin Park fandom encouraged Kraus to make his own music, in the form of electronic and hip-hop beats. Growing up in Dallas, he felt unable to connect to the local music scene—but he had his computer. Around 2010, a YouTube magic tutorial video introduced him to Sigur Rós, broadening his aesthetic scope. Following a breadcrumb trail of blog links, it was only a matter of time before his mind was blown by the likes of Odd Future, Danny Brown, and A$AP Rocky. Around 2012, Kraus decided he wanted to pursue music as a career. He got an acceptance letter from the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University. His album End Tomorrow was finished in early 2016. Kraus emailed several labels and music writers. Brian Justie from Terrible Records accepted to release the album. End Tomorrow was released on September 9. On September 28, a music video for the song "Pitch Fucker" was premiered by Stereogum. Kraus released "Reach" as a single of his second album Path on February 7, 2018.The album's second single, "Bum", was released eleven days later.Path released on March 9. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave a 7.3/10 review.Chicago Reader's Leor Galil also talked positively about the album. He released a music video for "Bum" on June 6.