Unhappybirthday – Schaum

Tapete

Annoyingly, when I received the CD of the latest Unhappybirthday release, the first thing that happened was for The Smiths‘ track of the same name to try and lodge itself in my brain. Thankfully, as soon as I pressed play, any thoughts of that rather lame song were sent running and were subsumed by a wash of gentle, hazy pop beauty.

For the band’s third album, the first since 2015’s Schauer, the arrival of Diana Kim on bass seems to have infused them with a sense of languor that is utterly irresistible. They set sail for somewhere into the distant sunset with barely a puff of wind in their sails and a dream of realising some hybrid of post-punk resonance with a dreamy ethereal subtlety. Although mention is made of shoegaze in the press release, that doesn’t work for me, because there is so much space in the sound; the simple, elegant drum machine programmes with no unnecessary frills at all; and the warm, clear bass sound with no distortion that is more reminiscent of melodic mid-’80s goth stuff like Danse Society or March Violets, slowed down to a much more sedate pace. Those two perfect elements allow plenty of scope for Tobias Rutkowski to unfurl stretches of lightly fuzzed guitar that waltz in slow motion with the half-whispered monotone vocals of Daniel Jahn.

It all makes for a rather intriguing prospect and unlike anything else that I have heard coming from the German underground in recent times. At times, I have that same feeling that I had when I first heard the mysterious Lewis album that was issued by Light In The Attic a few years ago, almost as if you have stumbled into somebody’s private recording time and they are allowing you and you alone to experience their offerings. It is something about that slow unfurling of the tracks and Daniel’s intimate delivery. This will never disturb you, but will insinuate its way into your heart instead.

The album doesn’t last long, around thirty-five minutes, but the diaphanous feel and gentle yearning seem to stretch time. It doesn’t all uncurl like a cat in the sunshine — track three, “Niederung”, has much more of a spring in its step and does have more of an ’80s post-punk sound with a little more scratchiness on the guitar. The instrumental “Teer”, which is by far the longest track on the album, has a blurry trumpet sound (whether it is a real trumpet, I can’t tell) allied to some sci-fi synth sounds and crazy guitar squeals to add a little more to the mix.

What it does do is rest easily on the sun-lounger next to you, keeping you company as the sun sets on a calm, clear day — and you can’t ask for much more than that.

-Mr Olivetti-