RADAR: Dear Reader

Forget bittersweet reflections on relationships gone bad. For Dear Reader, AKA Cherylin MacNeil, this break-up is on a much grander scale: the fundamental issues of faith, purpose, randomness and destiny all figure into the dissolution of her discomforting life view -- big themes that make for the inventive and captivating album of indie alt-pop with Idealistic Animals. Originally a collaborative effort based in Johannesburg, MacNeil relocated her Dear Reader to Berlin, taking her struggle with a belief system gone awry and creating songs that expressed her new found independence: physical, emotional, spiritual. Released to acclaim in South Africa and Germany last month, MacNeil's Animal menagerie will be released in the U.K. on January 19 with a U.S. date TBD. Theatrical, unpredictable (sm)art/pop with traces of Regina Spektor in its cascading, twisting melodies and bulging kit bag of intricate, propelled instrumentation, Idealistic Animals restores our faith (at least) in the power of musical imagination. Videos after the jump...

Dear Reader - "MAN (Idealistic Animals)" (from Idealistic Animals)

Dear Reader - "MONKEY (You Can Go Home Now" (from Idealistic Animals)