Three years after "Das Island Manöver", Turbostaat will release their fifth album "Stadt der Angst" on April 5, among other formats as a double LP via the Hamburg label Clouds Hill Records. As a little teaser, a track titled "Sohnemann Heinz" was already made available on the new homepage, giving a small taste of the upcoming album. The whole thing has been downloadable since February 28 and was complemented with a fitting video clip.
First and foremost, the exterior of the CD/LP impresses with a very simple layout that has been reduced to the essentials: band name and album title, all in white with beige letters.
The interior then reveals the typical Turbostaat sound, following the motto: where Turbostaat is written, Turbostaat is also inside: with the current album, no fan will be disappointed. You can hear the familiar cryptically nested lyrics with word combinations that rarely reveal themselves fully on the first listen, if at all, and as always presented by singer Jan.
The classic "hits" like "Fünfwürstchengriff" from the Island Manöver or "Harm Rochel" from "Vormann Leiss" are missing on the current record, although "Psychoreal" shows clear tendencies towards being a catchy tune. This doesn't necessarily make the album worse; the true qualities just need to be 'listened out'. Speaking of Psychoreal: what the heck is an "Eierlikörgefangenschaft"?
What each of the tracks on the Husum record has in common is a longer intro, averaging about 30 seconds. Otherwise, it is relatively varied, alternating between fast and slower pieces.
The songs leave a lot of room for personal interpretations; for example, "Phobos Grunt", a former Russian space probe that never reached its destination, could be a synonym for lost friendships or simply moving on/fleeing to unknown territories.
Thus, the album of the now Flensburg and Hamburg-based quintet is permeated with criticism, fears, and frustration that allow the listener to discover new things even after several listens that initially haven't crystallized. And that makes the record quite exciting and versatile.
A certain South Tyrolean band also gets its share of criticism. Always a topic of discussion and constantly under scrutiny. This is also the case in the song "Pestperle": just courage, raise your arms / a little later the mood shifts with / cold and false the eyes flash / kisses left, but kisses right / next door they are sharpening their knives / mostly they prefer to just watch / stiff, cold, brutal, disappointed / in the twilight their masks fall / and the conscience is the first to leave the ship / hello Echo, welcome them / good profit, good face / free wild ones in your halls / under the coat the old idea / still searching for the heirs of the shit / I can only hope you perish in the process / in the twilight their masks fall / and the conscience is the first to leave the ship / they come back and smile kindly / patriot, liar, and shit face. Not only because of the statement but also due to these eternal discussions and the inability to distinguish between rumors and facts surrounding this band, this text is all the more important.
There are a total of twelve songs, produced by Moses Schneider (among others, Kreator, Olli Schulz, Tocotronic, Beatsteaks, Fehlfarben), who has also worked with Turbostaat on the last two albums. The vinyl version will include three additional tracks.
Finally, four bands are recommended that might also appeal to any Turbostaat enthusiast: Love A, Findus, Frau Potz, and the grandiose Kaput Krauts.
Info: And by the way, Marten Ebsen (guitar and lyricist of Turbostaat), who also contributed to Olli Schulz's last record, has released the album "Feuer in der Nachbarschaft" on March 15 under the band name Ninamarie, together with Thomas Götz from Beatsteaks.
