Beatsteaks

BEWERTEN

0.00/5
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Deine Plattensammlung

»Living Targets«

[Epitaph / Connected]

Text: Lee Hollis, Lee Hollis

Because I only listen to music, when I’m paid to, I’m one of the ignorant few that missed the Beatsteaks’ last release “Launched”. But thanks to the internet, DSL and a flat rate I’ve been able to, uh, steal most of those songs. Good stuff. And the sinking feeling that I’ve heard it somewhere before doesn’t stop “Shut Up Stand Up” from sounding like a real authentic HIT. Damn, that’s a good song ... With “Living Targets”, the Beatsteaks’ second record for Epitaph, the message - for me at least - is as clear as a pre-teen’s face before the horror of puberty sets in: Less PUNK - More ROCK.

Fine with me. Most modern punk rock bores my tears anyway. I find it a little creepy, however, that six of the twelve songs here were produced by former Faith No More bassist Billy Gould. I was never a fan of Faith No More’s “Now I’m Here - Now I’m There” musical salad, but not because songs were horrible. Mike Patton (now expressing himself f. e. with Tomahawk) pushed and pulled his singing in so many different directions that it was hard for me to figure out what the hell he wanted. Flexibility (or variety, not sure which) at the expense of identity. The creepy part is that I get almost the same feeling with “Living Targets”. And I’m wondering if it’s Billy’s fault ... But not necessarily because of the vocals. (Although singer Arnim Teutoburg-Weiss can go from “I’m quiet now” to “I’m gonna RIP YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT!” faster than a top-fuel dragster can hit 300 mph from a standstill.) It’s more like: “Well, we’ve got all this talent lying around. How do we feel today? Indie-rocky or punky-rocky?” If I’m missing anything, it’s ... it’s ... Fuck it. Listen, I’m not saying that for a band to be good, every song has to sound the same and those songs are only allowed three chords. I’ve just recently re-discovered the Butthole Surfers (DSL, flate rate ...) whose musical history is somewhere between “inspired song writing” and “Please turn that shit off”-weirdness. But they remained one BAND. And because I’m not a fucking idiot, I also know that Beatsteaks are only one BAND. They just don’t always sound like it. Sooo ... And at the end, we all know that any band with word “steak” in their name has to be good, don’t we ...?