Since 2004, we all know from the existence of Ramtatta.de: Growing up is really lame. Ideally, everything should always stay the way it is, and everything was better back then anyway. The guys from the band "Ausschlag" seem to share the same opinion, as they show up with the album "Who Ordered All This Poison?".
Musical highlights? Not a chance!
Profound and highly philosophical lyrics at Kant level? Not at all!
Still somehow lovable? Definitely!
Ausschlag come with an interesting record and start to capture my interest from the very first song. The sound quality resembles a cheap €55 rehearsal room recording and thus strongly reminds one of the early roots of punk rock, where it was almost condemned to use more than three chords (understandable, considering that almost no punk can count to four).
To finally make a connection to the first paragraph: Ausschlag sounds like punk rock from the past (which interestingly it is, as these are restored recordings from 1983)! While they don't have much to offer in terms of simplicity, poor quality, and short durations, the guys still manage to enchant me with their charm. The singing doesn't quite succeed, the instruments are wonderfully minimalist, and the lyrics often produce nice slogan-like phrases that you can't really use for rhetoric courses at an evening school, but they certainly resonate well when shouted along. I find phrases like "Burn, burn, Bitterfeld, burn!" or "Freedom, Drinking, Anarchy!" very nice. While all of this is far from demanding, who wants to be that anyway?
Strangely enough, Ausschlag achieves exactly what other bands fail to do: to convince with simple music and simple lyrics. You might have read other trash from me, like "Meaningless and boring punk rock that offers nothing new," so the rating surprises me a bit myself.
It may be because Ausschlag really comes across as authentic in their "Consciously-Sounding-Crap" and truly sound like what was loved and appreciated decades ago.
The only downside is the short lifespan with which one feels immersed in the music. The beloved and familiar system wears off too quickly, leaving a rather bland aftertaste for the listener, who, after a few spins, gladly turns to something more demanding. However, for those who can't get enough of this kind of music, they shouldn't give their poor ears a break and should check out "Ausschlag" on Myspace or Facebook (if anything is even available, of course). Because here stands a band ready for the nostalgic.
For all other listeners, the band name is the program.
