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Title: Motel Songs
Artist: Janosch Moldau
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 24th October 2008
Label: Janosch Moldau Records



Album Review

With ‘Redeemer’ from 2005, the German composer, producer and musician JANOSCH MOLDAU celebrated his musical debut, which was independently produced all by himself. It took 18 months until he was completely satisfied and eventually released it and received overly positive critics. ‘Motel Songs’ is the long anticipated successor and now we’re going to open the door to the small hotel room, step in and hear the somewhat gritty guitar lines of the album opener ‘Not with the Son’, but its true beauty is to be revealed a few thrilling seconds later, when the electronic elements are being introduced and industrial-tinged rhythm-scapes connect with wide atmospheres in which Janosch’s clear voice seems to drift weightlessly.

I’ve been thinking of a way to describe that sound of the rhythm section of ‘Her I Am’ properly and it comes close to the sound one of these thin layers of tin makes sometimes if you fitfully bend it. The combination of the harmonic and dissonant sounds and frequencies makes for the creation of an incredibly intense sound entity you just want to get lost in, floating on the waves of jet-black melancholy. Guitars swaying on (bitter) sweetest washes of ambience on ‘Clear’ and seem to fade away into the cold of a dark winter’s night, whilst “We started laughing without tears.” with no happiness inside this laughing, it can’t exist here and “I sing on - my lonely Motel song”. And if you think that sound construction falls apart entirely to end everything it builds up again and closes with a beautiful string sequence.

If there’s one instrument I really admire it’s the piano that - together with strings and acoustic guitar - paints wonderfully tragic sound pictures and it’s like Janosch sings in some of the first lines “I see pictures - deep down in my mind - Burning pictures - Nightmares inside.” And that piano plays a much more leading part in ‘Deepest Sins of my Heart’ and in some way, it creates a Déjà vu; almost as if I heard it before; and it anchored deep inside my consciousness. Strange feeling! The beats are strongly distorted, but stay in the background. Even Janosch’s voice is processed now and then.
  
This is quite an unusual form of Electronic pop music, very experimental at times, but always keeping true to great melodies, highlighting the clean vocals, a balancing act between dissonance and harmony worth checking out for everybody with a soft spot for more challenging pop music.


Tracklist

01. Not with the Son  4:24
02. Pieces from the Stairs of Heaven  4:40
03. Follow Me  4:38
04. I am the Kingdom  4:10
05. Here Again  4:23
06. Clear  6:23
07. Motel Link  1:49
08. Burning Pictures  4:43
09. One with the Sinner  4:10
10. Deepest Sins of my Heart  5:22
11. Stairway Down  2:19


Line-up

Janosch Moldau – All Music, Lyrics, Vocals


Website

http://www.janoschmoldau.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/janoschmoldau


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10


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