With its brilliant mix of bright melodicism and inward-looking emotionality, Shelter Boy invigorates the German indie scene. “I want my music to be everything for others,” Shelter Boy told himself during Corona Lockdown and 10 songs were created, which he packed onto the album. “Failure Familiar” can be thought of as something like this: The LP drifts with the tide of its protagonist’s emotional well-being. With a dazzling sonic palette – from the stretched rock anthems that Oasis made their name with to Mac DeMarco’s laid-back guitar pop and King Krule’s melancholy beat-driven song craft – it’s an impressive introduction to an artist who uses classical ideas to fathom the pitfalls of modern life. Shedding light on complicated emotions is exactly what he aims to do: “I’m trying to show another way to be vulnerable and let people know that these feelings exist and that they can relate to them“.
Before Simon “Shelly” Graupner went solo as Shelter Boy, however, the musician who grew up in East Germany played guitar in the indie rock band Still Trees. Why he finally went his own way: “I thought that maybe I could make better music on my own,” he explains. With this bold statement, he went straight ahead and realised his pipe dreams.
He released his debut EP “Mirage Morning” in 2019 and already in January 2020 he went straight for it with the second EP “Rock’n’Roll saved my Childhood (lel)“. Both EPs showcase his complex song craft and rich melodic sensibilities, leading to tours with the likes of Gus Dapperton and Omar Apollo, as well as a performance with Norwegian pop artist Boy Pablo, who also previously contributed his distinctive vocals to Shelly’s glorious head-in-the-clouds song “Terrace“. Initially often promised as the German Mac DeMarco, he has since found his very own style between indie rock and dreampop, dreamy guitar sounds and a rawness. On stage, together with his so-called Shelly Family, coarse sayings meet daring show interludes and impulsive musical excursions. The room is filled with love and youthful recklessness. But even when Shelter Boy plays solo, he manages to convey this energy in a more intimate setting.
In 2021 Shelter Boy went on “Failure Familiar Tour 2022” with his Shelly Family. 16 shows through Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK. Euphoric from a packed festival summer with shows at MS DOCKVILLE, Sziget in Budapest or Deichbrand Festival, Simon is already standing at the starting point with his second album.
