Wir Sind Hier

Album review

März's second album is stronger and tighter, without losing any of the prettiness that made their debut, Love Streams, so charming. Ekkehard Ehlers and Albrecht Kunze have evacuated the more naïve elements (rain, glockenspiel, and the like) to make room for a wider instrumentation that includes the lap steel and trombone of Jakobus Siebels, the accordion of Bernadette La Hengst, and the double bass of Thomas Butteweg. The computer is at the heart of the creative and performing processes of this album, but the duo is keen on hiding that, building songs from acoustic instruments and keyboard sounds. And yet, the construction and textures of these pieces definitely belong to the digital age. But the cleverness of the arrangements becomes apparent only after a couple of listens. More immediately seductive are the melodies. "Forever Never," "Some Things Do Fall," and "The Pop Song" are very effective examples of mellow electro-pop with a folk-pop touch (the accordion, banjo, and acoustic guitar). The latter piece, with its fat double bass, its banjo, and its simple melody, gets very close to a 21st century take on Simon & Garfunkel -- and makes the image work out for the better, yielding the disc's highlight. "März im Park" and "Oktober im Park" offer an alluring mixture of pop and experimental electronica, bringing to mind the work of Harald "Sack" Ziegler. "Blaue Fäden" and "Biber & Enten" are overtly electronic and dancefloor-oriented, while "Welt am Draht" draws the listener into one of Ehlers' experimental ambient soundscapes. These various approaches and styles are presented in a complementary manner, each track unveiling a piece of the puzzle that is März's musical persona. The pop/songwriter aspect is more interesting than the electronica side on this album, but one doesn't get in the way of the other. Recommended.
© François Couture /TiVo