ERNTE 77 completely surprised me with their last album, the “Red Album”.
A) I didn’t know the band before
B) The lyrics were full of allusions, had humor, and clear statements
C) The band comes from the secret punk capital of Germany, Cologne.
What other city can offer Supernichts, Detlef, Chefdenker, Hannen Alks, Knochenfabrik, and of course Ernte77?
Now, with “Greeting from the Kitchen”, the fifth album of the trio from Cologne is being released.
Who doesn’t know the “Greeting from the Kitchen”? Well, you won’t find it at the fries stand, but if you’ve ever had a nice meal with Grandma and Grandpa, then you’ve experienced something like that.
So, does ERNTE77 greet us with the expectation of offering us something great?
There are 19 songs, which is really old school, as that was the number of songs that used to be on an album. Some bands sell two albums with that, but we are in the punk underground here, not in a stadium.
The band hasn’t lost their humor and clear statements, which they show well on the album, with “Because of the System” or “The Concept of Germany is Repugnant to Me”.
The band also tackles themes that supposedly mean something to many alternative-living people, like “Vanlife” or “Regular Daily Routine fuck off”.
The titles fit well, so what about the lyrics overall?
I still have the “Red Album” very much in my ears and must say, this one is even a bit better. Maybe also because the surprise effect I had while listening to that album is no longer present here. Songs like “Landing Bridges In” (where in, exactly?), “80 Euros” or “Tower Construction in Sülz” are not bad, and I would say that many other bands would have great songs with those. But we are talking about ERNTE 77 here.
In my opinion, the guitar has moved even further forward, which unfortunately leads to the vocals not always being 100% understandable. Sometimes it reminds me a bit of a battle, vocals against the instruments. The songs have more power and aggression because of this, and that is surely intended, but when a band has such good lyrics, they should also be understood.
With “Greeting from the Kitchen”, ERNTE 77 has released another very good album, which may not count among their best, but is still far better than most of what is currently being heard in German-speaking punk rock.
I’m going to smoke an Ernte23 now and then I’ll head down to the corner café, “Luckily There’s Cake” there. I can also “Drink Against Psychoses” there, but it’s worth noting “Cost Trap Shooting”.
