All posts by Carlo

A woman inked in black and white holding her hand in front of her open mouth in surprise. Below, in thick red letters, it says ABAY and really tiny some more letters that form the album title. Everything is amazing and nobody is happy – it’s the zeitgeist talking and a fitting title to what is the debut album by one of German indie rocks busiest people. Blackmail were an institution in the German indie rock scene. The tight production by guitarist Kurt Ebelhäuser met lead singer Aydo Abay’s distinctRead More

Believe me, I didn’t make this one easy for myself. I was born in the 1980s. I didn’t live in them. But I remember how I hated those plastic synth sounds growing up and when I was a teenager. I was a sucker for electric guitars, distortion and rough vocals. This music didn’t feel real. Even in the movies the 1980s always looked too slick, too polished, too chique. Men in suits. Women with shoulder pads, perms and what not. I know pictures of my parents from the 1980s, theyRead More

I first saw Pup live opening for Cloud Nothings a few years back in a semi open air venue near the Spree in Berlin. I initially went to the gig to see Cloud Nothings. It was a breezy summer evening. Clouds above our heads and a fresh wind going over the Spree next to us. Pup opened the evening and almost blew my hair off. The band made such a racket, they were really tight and garnished their thick guitars with wonderful melodies Rivers Cuomo is looking for since Weezer’sRead More

Oh German punk, you are truly doing well. If you hear and watch the new song by Farben/Schwarz called Jahr der Schlange there’s no other possible outcome. The last months brought us new albums by Turbostaat, Captain Planet, Fjørt or Kmpfsprt and Farben/Schwarz do foster your appetite for their upcoming EP. Heavy guitars, thundering drums and aggressive vocals broken up by clean verses and breaks. Jahr der Schlange is probably their best song to date. On it, the band shuffles between post-rock breaks, Fjørt heavyness and Kmpfsprt’s thorough energy. GetRead More

The press shot of Modern Baseball that is being distributed as part of the promo and that is headlining this review is a little misleading. It shows the band all happy and smiling. At first sight this might seem appropriate. The band has outgrown its d.i.y. roots. Basements in and around Philadelphia aren’t home to this band any longer. When you look at the expansive touring schedule the band has been through and is again, it is the bigger venues that play host now. After a self recorded debut albumRead More

When I was a teenager Robert Stadlober, Matthias Schweighöfer or Daniel Brühl used to play in movies commissioned by German TV station Pro7. In those films they spent time in woods, gardens, at boarding schools or in some parents basements at parties asking themselves how the whole adulthood might work. Back then these were exactly the questions I kept asking myself. All this was made that little bit sweeter as I fondly connect those times and movies to their soundtracks. Badly Drawn Boy, Elliott Smith, Slut, The Notwist or PavementRead More

There are some constants in my life over the last couple of years. My parents, my sister, my friends, evening long discussions about the transfer policy of my favorite football club and my love for Northern German punk rock. Next to Turbostaat, Captain Planet are one of those bands that cannot disappoint me. Ein Ende is the name of their latest record. I was traveling the US recently, when I got an email from their label Zeitstrafe (one of the best German punk labels) asking me if I’d be interestedRead More

It’s a Thursday night and I am bored and slightly angry. I am not sitting alone at home. I am not bored because I have no one to interact with. Fun fact, I am at a party. I know plenty of people here and I am having a good time with free drinks, nice catch up talks, small talk and so on. I am not complaining about the occasion – it’s the aftershow party of the German Echo music awards – I actually like being here. The show was awfulRead More

A whirring guitar, then a second guitar and all of a sudden bass and drums crash in. It may not sound like the reinvention of the wheel, but LIRR are different and Ritual is a strong statement. Emo and Germany have had a difficult relationship at times. While the US is full of new bands playing basement shows, releasing music through mini labels and working in a tight knit community, Germany hasn’t been that fazed. Don’t get me wrong, there are always a couple of bands that wave the emoRead More

This year is shaping up to be a great year for music. While the whole world falls victim to ugly terrorist attacks, disgusting right wing propaganda and the seething death of our planet, music is a welcome distraction. The Hotelier are one of the bands whose record I am looking forward to the most. Piano Player is the first proper song (ballad Goodness Pt. I put aside) – and if the band isn’t going to blow up with this record I don’t know who will. Home, Like NoPlace is thereRead More