The rain is dancing off the cheap metal gutters, but it surely won’t last much longer. After all, the only companion for this dreary dose of precipitation is the inherent silence in the air, leaving it to harmlessly pitter-patter toward the ground after escaping the night sky. Alas, it is frigid, and it is damp. And at the same time, it is beautiful.
In the wild world of deviant music, audiences seek complex structures that are somehow able to maintain rhythm while adopting a unique sound. And yet, there are certain times when the simplest sounds and the most seemingly innocently crafted rhythms comprise something so rich and so vibrant that we can’t help but take notice of the inherently beautiful proximity. With Wunden Gibt Es Immer Wieder, the second album by Germany’s Sankt Otten on Hidden Shoal Recordings, audiences have a record that captures a moment in time – an orchestrated landscape that is entirely one with nature and transcends the limits of monotonous ambience.
Like a brisk wind, there is a logical and methodical transgression to the music. The breeze is steady, and the pace is constant. The strings and guitars reverberate against one another, accompanying the drums in a harmonius union. Although the album was likely not designed as a soundtrack for the winter months, its role as a loyal companion to a desolate frost-bitten landscape is undeniable. It is practically organic – breathing heavily at times before recovering with a refrained lull of substance. As far as openers go, “Taschensymphonie” is pitch-perfect and hits all the right notes. The rhodes piano blends with an electronic hum that establishes a mood of tranquility, and ultimately transitions into the energetic and vibrant title track that is well deserving of being chosen as the album’s single.
Later on, “Auf Suende Folgt Strafe” maintains the practically ethereal soundscape by safely intensifying the groundwork laid by the previous tracks. The monotonous electronic beat is urgent, churning forward to streamline the smoothness of the requisite chords that emerge to the forefront of the composition. This fusion of electronica and ambience is virtually seamless. Perhaps the most intense part of the storm, or at least the album’s highest note, debatedly arises with “Depressive Elite,” a song where regret simultaneously reverberates from the twangs of distorted guitar wails while the lonely strings of a partner yearn for stability. The best quality of these specific examples is the fact that they are scattered about the album - they are highlights to an already distinguishable entity. Like any storm, there are some raindrops or snowflakes that are larger or more visible than others. In the long run, they are simply one of a billion minutia that contribute to the over-arcing setting.
A little bit too much adventure arises near the end of the album, as “Mit Guter Laune Ins Elysium” and “Analoge Boheme” throw too much of the openly electronic drums into the previously tepid atmosphere. The result is an AIR that reminds us of the French electronic wunderkinds more than it does of the anonymous soundscape that has been previous maintained. This deviation is not necessarily undesirable, but the departure is certainly distracting. Then again, perhaps everyone needs to come in from the rain at some point.
With this release, Sankt Otten has surely made a statement. It has never been fair to label them as the “German Portishead.” At the same time, it is equally unfair to look at this sophomore release without conceding the band’s uncanny knack for fusing together complex musical genres and making the product sound so simple, and yet so beautiful.
-Bill Morgal