This unassuming young gent is Jonathan Wolfe of Savannah, Georgia and is the man behind Troll Town, who have put out one of 2010′s most bewitching releases. In Jonathan’s own words Troll Town is inspired by childhood ideas of swords and sorcery, as well as a recent attraction to baroque pop, shoegaze and instrumental hip hop.

And while accurate, that hardly does justice to the subtle and eclectic tapestry that Chevalier weaves. What first drew me to Troll Town I must admit was Jeremy Sorese’s cover art, which reminded me of the French comic Astérix. So i decided to give it a download and thankfully the music more than lived up to the marvelous cover art. It’s dark and magical and whether intentionally or coincidentally Jonathan’s electronic project touches down in an ether that’s caught between the currently Glo-Fi, Dream Pop and even a dash of Gothier Post-Punk , all of which is seemingly getting more en vogue by the minute. It’s effortless, timely, familiar and entirely original. You really couldn’t ask for more and I’d be shocked if in the next 6 months Troll Town doesn’t get picked up and pushed hard by a Stereogum, GVSB or Pitchfork.

Part of what really attracts me to Troll Town is how well they pull off the whole “fairy tale” thing. I haven’t really heard an album or band do that successfully since Helium’s The Magic City without sounding forced and contrived. The releases actually share a lot in common, from the use of electronics to of course the whole magical mood that they project.

I can’t wait to here what Jonathan does on a full length and how he tries and tops this. I really can’t stress enough that you should have Chevalier in your playlist, RIGHT NOW! Which should be really easy to do since Troll Town is giving it away for FREE! You can’t beat free and you shouldn’t miss out on this release. Seriously.

- My Pal the Crook