Artist: Bohren & Der Club of Gore
Title: Beileid
Genre: Ambient / Jazz / Downtempo / Indie
Release Date: 28th June 2011
Label: Ipecac Records
Album Review
When the discussion comes to BOHREN UND DER CLUB OF GORE I am always thinking that their music could be the perfect soundtrack for the 'Mullholand Drive' or even the 'Dark City'. They play a rather astonishing crossover combination of Jazz and Ambient, which leads them nearer to Dark Ambient or Doom Jazz. Yet this band is another example of brilliancy which must compete with itself; one that should outdo its past achievements. In the specific case the ones of 'Sunset Mission' (2000) and 'Black Earth' (2002).
Did they've managed to do so? Not quite. The 'Zombie Never Die (Blues)' is the weakest moment of the album and I guess that paradoxically enough the title has something to do with it. If this song is about a zombie then this is a vegan zombie waiting for the wind to shake the bananas of the tree. The song lacks any tension, let alone the one expected from the title. The lack of tension is even more striking in their version of WARLOCK's 'Catch My Heart'. I don't think that the aim of the band is to provide some "relaxing" music, let alone this hypotonic version of almost predictable saxophone sounds mixing with minimalistic Jazz elements. And despite the Jazz and the relaxing mood one gets the feeling of over-the-top brain process of their material. There's not enough freedom so to speak. Especially in the case of 'Catch My Heart' the band delivers the desolation of the narrator but fails in the density and thus in intensity which was present in the original due to the extensive track length.
The best song of this CD is 'Beileid' (Condolence) and it is the reason for purchasing this CD. The song immediately grasps you with its dark aspects; the down-tempo offers an eerie aspect to the song and if you add the bell-like sound of the Rhodes the whole song lingers between its various layers. It looks like a narrative in its own, an almost 3D narrative that is, minimal yet powerful and effective to the point that someone might wonder if the funeral on the cover of the CD is the one of Faust. As I aforesaid the CD is imbalanced. At the bottom of it, just to quote Nietzsche, from 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'; "Of all that is written I love only that which is written with blood. Write with blood: and you will discover that blood is spirit". This holds not only for writings but for music as well.
Tracklist
01. Zombie Never Die (Blues) – 7:35
02. Catch My Heart – 13:17
03. Beileid – 14:21
Line-up
Thorsten Benning– Drums
Christoph Clöser – Saxophone, Piano, Rhodes
Morten Gass – Piano, Mellotron, Rhodes
Robin Rodenberg – Double Bass
Websites
http://www.bohrenundderclubofgore.de/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 6
Sound: 9
Total: 7.5 / 10
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