“Rock’n’Roll & Pushing Sheep”. Let’s take a moment to let this term sink in. It sounds like a funny pastime for amusing homeless people who keep such a farm animal as a pet under their bridge. Or like an album from a punk band. What a great coincidence, because the band “KaSa” (= “Potato Salad”) has produced such an album quite by chance. It presents itself in beautiful colors with a sunset on the cover, showing only the shadows of a person and that of a sheep…what could that be up to? I’m guessing “Rock’n’Roll”, although I would prefer the presence of people… but well, not everyone is into that and some invite animals to their party. However, as soon as the funny packaging is turned over, I recoil. The two words “Nix” and “Gut” glaringly stand out in the lower right corner, laughing at me mockingly. For many, this is the devil himself, while for others it’s a great place to discover bands and their merchandise. Since I personally have had both good and very bad experiences with this mail order, I approach the matter relatively neutrally… and don’t even realize that I’m digging my fingernails into my table at that moment.
Just like the experiences with “Nix Gut”, the same goes for the album of the Hanover punk rockers. For a long time, the record flew through my CD shelf and received little attention…until today! When I first held the disc in my hands and listened to it, not much stuck with me and it wasn’t particularly noteworthy. But now it has crawled back from the depths of the underworld, and I’m no longer sure about anything. Because this disc simply combines everything that could somehow stand in opposition. I can’t ultimately say whether the disc is very good or rather boring or at least entertaining for a longer time, because somehow both are present. At least I can say: It definitely offers something like variety.
Sometimes everything is ruthlessly rocked out, and sometimes complex guitar solos emerge. And both the one and the other sound either forced and boring or pretty awesome. At one point, a lyric is quite well done, while at another it seems absurd or not particularly noteworthy. Sometimes the songs are clearly structured and built, and sometimes the sound variety within a song varies quite significantly (example: at first it sounds like country and later it’s ruthlessly “punked”). Here one song sounds very well recorded and professionally mixed, while the other doesn’t necessarily shine in that regard. It’s clear that the work of the Potato Salad has highs and lows in ALL songs and therefore can be understood as more than one wave.
What I have noticed, however, is that most of the choruses are very well done and have earworm quality or sing-along factor. Unfortunately, the verses stand in contrast to the choruses, which, although sometimes quite nice, do not particularly stand out. Fortunately, in this respect, the seesaw tilts in favor of the band… there are fewer “bad” verses than there are “good” choruses. Therefore, in hindsight, a positive image remains that one could have of this album.
But there is also salvation: The songs “Dieser Tage” and “Emopunkpopschnulzen-Song” stand out positively, especially the former. Here it’s really fun to listen without noticing too many major flaws. And since these two are found more in the second half of the album, they stay stronger in memory and thus make a more positive impression.
However, after all this, a confused listener remains. I simply cannot give a rating in the form of stars; I would really have to evaluate each individual song. And aside from the fact that no one would care (let alone read) how each individual song might be rated, I also have no great desire to dissect the philosophical depth of a song. I could also just as well bang on my keyboard senselessly, save the resulting jumble of letters, copy it here, and say: THIS is the CD! It doesn’t really make much sense to mark it with a red or green pen with special notes.
But a conclusion might still be quite useful: Fans of the band will certainly hold a solid album in their hands and will be able to enjoy it. However, it would be questionable to assume that it is the best that the guys from Hanover have come up with.
Everyone else who counts less as “fans” should perhaps think carefully about it and listen in. It could be that it sounds like “0815” or doesn’t match personal taste. The logical consequence would then be, of course, that it – like with me – gets lost in the vastness of the home CD collection… and unlike my situation, perhaps never resurfaces.
So: Trying is better than studying!
