Boom! Here comes the big highlight!
This is how the new album by EL BOSSO & DIE PING PONGS begins.
A highlight indeed. That this legendary band, which has given the German language to ska and whose song “Immer nur Ska” is legendary, would release another album was something no one expected.
Now the time has come.
I could easily make this review simple and just say that the legend has made a great album, nothing else was expected, and so on. And that would be true.
Yes, indeed! But I’ll do the long version because the band deserves it.
What the band offers here is like a rush of endorphins.
It is often the case that bands that have withdrawn only release mediocre new material because they just want to make money and are stuck in the past.
EL BOSSO & DIE PING PONGS are completely different. How the gang has managed this is only partially clear to me, but that doesn’t matter. They have succeeded in bringing their style into the new millennium while simultaneously giving it a fresh makeover.
The opener “Nicht das letzte Mal” is not yet the absolute banger, but at least the band hints here that they are going to release more than just a new album. The second song, however, is fully convincing. “Prinzessin” is a danceable offbeat hit that combines fresh beats with wordplay and a mischievous grin in the punchline. Just for this song, the purchase is already worth it, but it gets even better.
“Mädchenmusik” paints a slightly chauvinistic picture of all the cuddly and heartache singers, and here too, this well-known mischievousness of EL BOSSO & DIE PING PONGS is more than just between the lines.
A particularly nice example of this mischievousness is also “Mein Freund der Psychopath.” Those who prefer spoken word will be happy with “Schön.”
The first half of the album goes by way too quickly. You feel good, think of all the little and big pranks you’ve pulled in life, and stop acting so grown-up.
The second half opens with “Metallica.” A song that strongly reminds of Funny van Dannen in the vocals and is musically somewhere between country and rockabilly.
You can then relax your hips to “Was passiert mit mir.” This can be taken quite literally, because after the nine songs that have played so far, you feel relaxed, chill, and in a good mood. EL BOSSO & DIE PING PONGS have achieved that. Their sound is better than ever. Their style is broader than ever, and their coolness couldn’t be better.
Sure, the sound sometimes reminds of Seed and Peter Vox, but so what.
“Wo die Mitte liegt” should also be mentioned. A song that conveys a lot of life experience while coming across as sympathetic and human. The chorus…
…only those who sometimes fall flat,
yes, they know how much it hurts
But that shows us where the middle lies
And protects against overconfidence…
…couldn’t be more heartfelt.
I really didn’t think it, didn’t believe it, and didn’t expect it, but what EL BOSSO UND DIE PING PONGS have released here is an extremely varied, entertaining, fluffy, danceable…oh, what am I saying.
It’s just a damn great record!
