Review Unherz - Herzschlag 2011

Wilder than the Onkelz, rougher than the Hosen and more outrageous than Frei.Wild – Simply Unherz! This is what the record company says about the german quartet that states: “We live our lives and do what we please!“ and they write music about that. Apparently this makes the band have some myths and stuff around them, of which they apparently have no time to care but instead do their things which is songs with are straight to the point with energy and attitude and a lyrical content that anybody can identify with. This is all what the company say, I have nothing to do with those comments myself as I just have copy-pasted most of this from the promo sheet. But I did like their first album stating that it was maybe not in anyway fantastic but still much fun to listen to.

Unheart as they are called in the british language does play straightforward, quite simple rock music with lots of attitude and energy. There is also a sense of it being somewhat unpolished to it, which I put down to a very good production that manages to create this modern yet dirty sound that the band convey in their music. There are some differences between this album and their debut which was called Unheartily Welcome: first off the album cover is different, there are eleven tracks on the album instead of ten, the album is 43 minutes compared to 41 minutes and there is a little showing of female vocals in the ballad called Die Hölle muss schön sein which is the ninth track on the album. I have no idea who the female guest singer is but if it is the main singer I must say that that guy has a brilliant control of his voice.

Better than the debut on all points is what the label says, which would not come as a surprise to be honest as they would have to sell this album to the people who bought the first one as well as other people. But are they saying the truth? Well, yes. I think this album is an improvement on all parts, not the fact that it has more tracks and minutes but the fact that the sound is slightly better, the songs are slightly better, the album is a bit more varied and the band sound slightly more mature. It is not a giant leap forward but rather a small step forwards from the debut album making this album better, not by much but it is better. I awarded a four to the debut and I will give the same rating to this album, it is not so much better that it merits another H but it is better and if you desperately need to buy one Unherz album I would say that this is the better choice.

It is a fun album to listen to, the music works well in all situations wether it is while you are driving along at 200 km/h on the backroads of Uruguay or having a great party where all your furniture is soon going to be smashed into pieces. It just works whenever you need a dose of simplistic rock music sung in the german language, it is not earth shattering music, or world changing, or fantastically amazing but it is fun and a good time to listen to. And the fact that it is sung in german is also a nice breath of fresh air (maybe not for the germans) compared to the many american rock bands we are fed on the radio and whatever.

So, if you feel a burning need for new party music or the records in your care are becoming a bit boring and overplayed, buy this album I can assure you that it will work brilliantly for that. It would be great radio music as well, public service rubbish radio in Swedish take notice and start playing this band. If you liked Unherz’s debut, you will like this one as well and if you like rock music you cannot dislike this album.

HHHHHHH

Unherz Herzschlag

Unherz
Herzschlag