The second album "Motherfucker Jazz Bar" by the Berlin music group "Diving For Sunken Treasure" can truly be compared to a recovered treasure. Although the band is often pushed into the Gypsy-Punk corner, they are much more than that and cannot be compared to Gogol Bordello or Ivan Ivanovich.
In the individual songs, you can find all sorts of styles. With their instruments (psychobilly guitars, staccato drums, double bass, and acoustic guitars) and the multi-part vocals, they create jewels in the genres of country, rockabilly, surf rock, swing, and more. Some songs could easily fit into Pulp Fiction by Tarantino, while others give the impression that they were recorded in an old dusty bar in New Orleans, and still others remind one of the early works of Against Me! While the vocals are often multi-part, the beautiful, rough voice of the frontman always stands out. Lyrically, they are very sailor-themed and sing about the harbor and the stormy sea...
Let's take a closer look at the album:
The intro is a nice surf rock melody without vocals.
After the intro, they kick off very quickly with "At the harbour," a song that slightly reminds one of Against Me! but still has that surf rock touch.
The 3rd song "City of orgies" also reminds one of the old album by the aforementioned band "Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose." At the end, the song unexpectedly shifts into a 3/4 waltz with their typical psychobilly guitar.
The 6th song could also be from "Against Me!", but I want to emphasize again that it doesn't sound copied; I'm just trying to categorize it for you ;-)
Song No. 4 feels quite rock-heavy and fast, which again reminds me of a band – Beatsteaks.
Song 7 "Stormy sea" finally breaks completely away from the previous 6 songs. It is very calm, pleasant, and melodic with slowly played banjo and violin. Here, you get the feeling that a sailor is singing. It could be associated with bands like Mumford & Sons.
The 8th song is again very unique. It somewhat reminds me of all those indie rock bands. Distorted electric guitar solo and generally fast.
The 9th song "Let's hear it for efficiency" could then somewhat lean towards the Gypsy-Punk direction a la Gogol Bordello, although the song then switches back to surf rock.
My absolute favorite is "Caravan" - Song No. 12. A wonderful melancholic melody to clear your thoughts, yet with a certain tempo. In the last minute, a typical New Orleans big band kicks in, giving the song a grand finale in the Tom Waits style.
With the last song "Going down" - Song No. 14 – I started to research. After all, I am not a musicologist and otherwise just an enthusiastic music listener who knows a bit of everything. I knew "Going down" is made to sound old and reminded me of jazz or swing, which would also fit well with the New Orleans style they repeatedly touch upon in the album. My findings led me to the music genre Charleston from the 1920s. Multi-part vocals, slightly jazzy with piano, violin, double bass, and acoustic guitar. Somehow, I had these old black-and-white cartoons in my head – Betty Boop, singing flowers, and dancing everyday objects...
All in all, "Diving for sunken Treasure" is a fantastic album with a lot of variety and musical know-how. The songs often sound old, but through their playing style, they do not feel dusty. Not punk, not rock, no gypsy music, no country or jazz, and yet somehow all of it. The album is hard to categorize.
However, there is one thing I keep pondering: This style of fast drumming and rockabilly-like guitar sound could possibly become a bit annoying over time... I don't know, because at first, I thought I wouldn't be able to listen to the album for long, but tonight it has been playing on repeat for several hours. I can well imagine that these few songs that completely break out of their standard mitigate the risk of "too much listening."
