Reviews Category

The sun has brought life to a halt. It’s crawling through the rugged walls. The faded terracotta walls throw back its reflections. It’s wearing down the parasols that have seen better days anyway. It’s dazzling heat is not yet ready to disappear. There is a couple sitting on a café patio looking towards the sea. He’s wearing a white linen shirt, a straw hat and linen pants. In his right hand he is holding on to a thick cigar. His left hand playing with the little spoon. He’s calmly stirringRead More

There is something beautiful about imperfection. The little wrinkle when she’s smiling. The hint of green in your blue eyes. The scar on your shoulder. The few grey hair even though you’re too young to have grey hair. Imperfection makes people unique. It makes us remember. Cymbals Eat Guitars always had a nag for writing imperfect pop songs. And I blame myself for not paying more attention to them earlier. To me the bands new record Pretty Years is the celebration of everything imperfect. Finally kicks the record off withRead More

Who the fuck are Salamanda? And why the heck hadn’t I heard of them before? Daddy Punk was sent to me by a friend of mine who works as a pr in music. The mail contained an unlisted Youtube link and a few lines. One in particular stood out: The band is bubbling up North but South of Hamburg nobody knows ‚em. Well Banjamin, we seriously need to change that! Daddy Punk/Kompanjero is the debut seven inch by Salamanda and the first new signing to one of the best GermanRead More

There is a difference between music you actually like and music you can appreciate for its value or the artistic value underneath it. I always found it hard to differentiate between the two. I still do in fact. Messer have always been one of those bands to me. On the one hand, my indie and punk heart is telling me that I should like them. On the other hand is the music though and that is not making it easy for me to like them. Too cool. Too distanced. TooRead More

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

Germany’s music landscape has been marked by a rising number of young and mostly male indie-pop bands lately. They all met in school and started off in their parents garages. Von Wegen Lisbeth is one of those bands and their story is not really different to any others. Not that I am saying their background is boring by any means, but if there is nothing new to tell, then there is simply nothing new to tell. Most famous example at the moment: Annenmykantereit. AMK are touring in sold-out venues andRead 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

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

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