Brand new EP from Jakob The Liar

Jakob The Liar is the moniker of Jakob Kupferberg, a Danish-born, London-based singer-songwriter whose music pulses with lived experience and a sharply poetic edge. Having spent his formative years moving between countries and schools, music became his refuge and a constant outlet in an ever-shifting world. That grounding in guitar and song soon transformed into something more profound; a lifeline during mental health struggles and ultimately, the vehicle for his artistic reawakening.

After a decade-long hiatus following a serious mental health crisis, Jakob returned to the scene in 2020 with Crystallised in Moonshine, a powerful EP that kick started his new creative new chapter. Since then, he’s re-entered the musical landscape with renewed intensity and an experimental flair, drawing from influences from folk pop to punk and alternative rock to Middle Eastern flourishes.

His latest release, the brand new six-track EP titled Wake Up Mr. Kupferberg, is perhaps Jakob The Liar’s boldest move yet. The first iteration of an upcoming full-length debut called The Great Awakening, this new outing fuses personal songwriting with cunning sociopolitical commentary that’s able to speak directly to a world that often prizes polished surfaces over inner truth. Nodding to Kanye West’s Wake Up Mr. West while distilling his own spiritual and political awakening, Jakob is building a mirror, cracked and reflective, through which we can see ourselves more clearly.

Following the hazy sonic dreamscape of intro piece “Wake up Mr. Kupferberg (Enterlude),” the EP progresses with “Sunchild,” a folk-pop gem about grief, rebirth and finding light in the darkness. Gently plucked guitar tones and tender textures set the stage for Jakob’s airy vocals, which carry emotional weight without ever feeling heavy. The track slowly glides with understated percussion and layered harmonies, capturing that intimate moment between loss and closure through subtly theatrical aesthetic and elegant songwriting.

Then there’s the swagger of “Vi@gr@ Falls & P!$$ Graffiti,” a grungy, genre-blurring track that showcases Jakob’s playful side without sacrificing substance. Shuffling drums, gritty guitar lines and a confident vocal performance create a mood both defiant and infectious. There’s a wink in the lyrics, but also a push to resist the mundane and embrace personal chaos as art. It’s a stylishly unorthodox song that hints at Jakob’s knack for reinvention, his willingness to let irony dance with sincerity.

“H E A R T B E A T” filters his pop-leaning songwriting through the frame of an epic indie rock setting, building throughout from the soft heart beat pulse, delicate guitar notes and emotive vocal delivery towards a surge of rock intensity. With slick guitar flourishes and striking drums, it’s a spectacular burst of uplifting musical energy capped by sensational vocal lines that soar high above the exhilarating arrangement.

“Paradigm $H!T” brings the fire with an explosive, unapologetic anthem that rips into the absurdity of our current political moment, it channels frustration into something combustible. Pulling threads from punk, rock, Middle Eastern scales and even medieval melodies, Jakob creates a sonic whirlwind that feels like a call to arms wrapped up in a raucous alternative rock jam that’s both energising and catchy from start to finish. The final track, “A Song Like You,” sees Jakob lean into a misty dream pop-inflected sound that drifts with bouncy melodic hooks and warm musical atmosphere, reaching an invigorating finale of charging rock vibes to close his truly superb new EP.

Listen to Wake Up Mr. Kupferberg below