NEBENWIRKUNG - thirty-five |
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14 songs |
35 Jahre was a song on Die Toten Hosen’s album Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau, which also ignited the career of the Düsseldorf based punk band. And yet this iconic punk band has been around for only thirty-four years, which is one year less than Nebenwirkung who started in Bremen in 1981, even though with considerably less success. Some of this may be because Nebenwirkung always stayed true to their roots and never agreed to any kind of commercial compromises. Stamina is one of the main virtues of Nebenwirkung, and therefore the title thirty-five is very fitting for the band’s thirty-fifth anniversary. The fourteen rather short songs make it to thirty-six minutes and give the impression that we are still somewhere in the Eighties. The songs are kept quite simple, played fast and always entertaining. And still Nebenwirkung are not a pure Deutschpunk band, as there are occasional hints of hardcore and crossover to be found in their sound. From a musical – and fortunately not a lyrical – point of view, a tracks like Wollen wir nicht reminds me somewhat of S.O.D. I also want to point out the charismatic voice of vocalist Holgi whose performance is clear enough to let you understand every word. The lyrics are, as with many punk band, quite direct and in your face, and treat topics that are today as relevant as thirty-five years ago. Social injustices, religion, wars, media manipulation are only a few issues that Nebenwirking are taking care of. The semi-ballad Die Reise depicts quite graphically a deportation into a concentration camp and should give quite some listeners a bad case of goosebumps. Bands like Nebenwirkung are hard to find these days. Those of you who grew up with bands like Slime, Razzia and the likes should be more than happy with these Bremen punks. thirty-five is the living proof that Deutschpunk can still be a lot of fun. One can only applaud Nebenwirkung that after all these years they are still doing their thing all on their own without the help of a record label. |