once more with feeling

You might already have noticed that I love nothing more than spending my time with going to concerts. But sometimes a weekend night couldn’t be spent better than by just sitting with friends at home, smoking cigarettes and drinking red wine, talking about just everything.
And this is exactly the feeling I get when listening to “VI” by Betty’s Apartment. It’s as if I actually am in their apartment, sitting on comfortable big couches in the dim light. We tell each other stories about our everyday life, we exchange worldly wisdoms. After some glasses we move on to the inevitable and heated political and social discussions before we end up moaning about life and love. It’s just the band and me, as if we’re old friends.

My personal highlight on the debut album of the band from Salzburg is “Murphy’s Law”, which seems like an ode to all Frequency Festival-goers and at the same time it draws the unsatisfying conclusion that some moments are way better when shared than when experienced alone.
Torn between seriousness and humor, platitudes and irony, the only wish that arises is the one for some consistency regarding the language – Betty’s Apartment in English is not Betty’s Apartment in German, whereat the latter seems to be more fitting for this kind of music, this kind of image, this kind of feeling.
And now: enter their apartment, take a seat and enjoy the conversation. Either with the EP here, some songs here or live (May 11 – Salzburg Rockhouse / May 23 – Vienna Loft).

Der Moment wär schön zu teilen
und ich wär so gern bei dir.
Doch ich steh nur blöd am Frequency
und es regnet mir ins Bier.

A girl fell in love with a boy. He was good-looking, smart, funny, they shared a lot of interests. He seemed like everything she had been searching for in a man. And on top of it all, he seemed to like her too.
It started with endless talks under the moonlight about the whole world, with smiling faces and sparkling eyes. Soon, there was holding hands, followed by a kiss when he invited her for dinner. She stayed for the night, and one night turned into many nights. A flirt that seemed to turn into something serious – but it didn’t. Because it wasn’t as easy as they both thought it would be. Despite everything that kept them together, there was more which pulled them apart. He noticed that he wasn’t ready, she noticed that he couldn’t give her the affection and attention she needed. They were able to spend the most wonderful time together, but they weren’t able to feel “together”.
It was so easy in theory, and yet so hard in reality. Because things just too often don’t turn out to be as we expected them. And sadly, this is especially true for people.

The most talented Vienna-based band, diver, just released their first video for “the theory”, a song of their debut EP. And I have the feeling that those boys might know what I’m talking about…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Isxd7J2Eec

I just try to tell you
‘I’m so glad I found you’
Brave I’m reaching for your hand
By the way I’m 13.

What was the best day of your life?
I guess, some grown-ups would mention their wedding day or the day their child was born here. Some might go for the day of their divorce, who knows. Maybe it’s the day you bought your first own car, or when you got your dream job. Maybe it was the day you finished your studies or when you moved to your favorite place on earth.

I don’t have a best day of my life. Not yet. I had amazing, fun, memorable days. Days that will stay in my heart and in my memory forever. Days I spent with wonderful people, days I spent at wonderful places. But this one day, that one being marvellous from dawn to dusk, that one about which you’ll tell your friends about until they get sick of it – that one is yet about to come. And it’s going to be legendary.

Someone who knows what I’m talking about is the Austrian band Calais. Today, they released their second EP entitled after the first track on it: “5th June”. As they say, this day two years ago left a lasting impression – whatever this may mean to them. But from the lyrics you could interpret that a little lovestory might have been the reason for this memory and the song.
Apart from the title song, the whole EP is filled with feelings and harmonic melodies, with female and male vocal parts alternating and complementing, with cello and double bass. As grand finale, the 7-minutes German-English piano ballad “Triest bei Regen” takes you to the Italian port city on a rainy day, sitting in a café with the singer David and talking with him about the peculiarities of life.

The whole EP of the sixtet is available as free download on bandcamp, but all of you Viennese people I’d recommend to come to their release party tonight at Venster99, where you’ll also be able to acquire the physical EP and ask the band about June 5th, 2009.

Calais – 5th June from calais on Vimeo.

I mean yes – I will survive
but I already lived
the best day of my life.

“Is this what you try or what you want to say / You cannot run away, turn back and run.”
Those are the first lines of the second single of Deckchair Orange‘s The Age Of The Peacock, their second album which was released last week. Let’s take a closer look at it:

The first song (and first single released), Dance With The Geeks, is the most danceable song, with fast metallic drums and a chorus to sing along to. When listening to Stay, you start to get the feeling that this record might be completely different from the first one. More profound lyrics which hint at a messed-up relationship that won’t work out (“Stay, stay stay / You’re slowly drifting away / When we are breathing in / You and I is what only can go wrong”), once again the vocal support of the drummer Wolf creating a much richer sound, and a short instrumental passage.
Then, there’s Go Go Go. And the first questions that come to my mind are: ‘Is this Deckchair Orange? Is this Alex’s voice?’ Yes, it is. But it’s different. Something has changed. It’s not only guitars and drums anymore. All of a sudden, there are electronic beats. Indiepop became Synthiepop.
While at the second half of Heartbeat, the synthesizer clearly sets in and once again reminds you of the evolved sound, No Regrets might be the one track of the record mostly in line with Deckchair Orange’s first one.
Coast To Coast continues the new found style – with an instrumental, keyboard-driven part rather than an old-school guitar solo.
Different to Hands, My Love refrains from a sing-along chorus, but focuses more on critical story-telling (“I heard the kids screaming / The other day but knew / They were only playing with their guns”).
After the failed lovestory of Ghosts, the record finds its end with Buzzing Air and its lively, upbeat piano sound and momentous lines: “I’m lost in possibilities / So give me reasons to decide”.

Conclusion: Deckchair Orange changed. The boys became men. The sound became more synthie-electronic and more rocking, new (digital) instruments appear, the lyrics are deeper and more meaningful. The soaking wet T-shirts and the theme park have been replaced by amazing artwork.
The Deckchairs try to underline their position in Austria’s flourishing indie scene, to find their niche beneath bands such as Francis International Airport, Ginga, Bilderbuch, Velojet and Garish – what they definitely manage with the new record.
For the fans of the old, catchy tunes like Solid Lie and Rose (as I am), it might take 3 or 4 times listening to The Age Of The Peacock to become accustomed to the new sound. But as soon as you are, you start to see the new potential, the new possibilities for even further development.
Only one thing that’s left to ask: How will they manage to get this sound across on stage? Will they need two Macbooks and three keyboards? Is it going to downgrade their live performance? Will it still sound as good as on CD?
Well, we will see. The best opportunity for that is at one of their album presentations in Munich (Feb. 19th) or in Vienna (March 2nd). More tour dates: check their Facebook page.

Since by now, you’re probably all excited to finally hear that new sound I’ve been trying to describe as good as I can – you can order The Age Of The Peacock here. And here’s their latest video for Stay, full of their pretty but quite battered faces:

DECKCHAIR ORANGE – Stay from Deckchair Orange on Vimeo.

Did you ever dream of sledging with huskies? Really cute ones, of course with two different eye colors? Well, I did. But until now, I never had the chance to.
Bilderbuch got that chance. For the video of their new single, “Karibische Träume” (Caribbean dreams).

When I heard “Calypso” from the previous album “Nelken & Schillinge” for the first time, the band immediately had me as fangirl number one. Okey, maybe it’s not that bad… but I saw them pretty often live, I have to admit. And I listened to the album for at least three months every day when driving to and from work, always with my fingers tapping to the beat on the wheel and my ass moving left and right on the seat, wanting to jump up and dance to the music.

Finally, Bilderbuch finished recording their new album. It’s going to be released on March 18th at schoenwetter Schallplatten (ink music), and the single is available for download here. Also, take a closer look at the amazing artwork – a picture by my very talented friend ikoon.

Bilderbuch – Karibische Träume