For 5 years, the 5 OXMO guys from K+K (Cologne & Koblenz) have been meeting relatively irregularly, but all the more effectively in their apartments, to now present their second album "Who do you want to be?" to the public. And I am really torn... The first two songs, which showcase a mix of KRAFTKLUB and FEINE SAHNE FISCHFILET or SONDASCHULE, are great, but then the third song "Der N." introduces Hip Hop. Hip Hop is not my thing, although FETTES BROT and DEICHKIND do have a few good songs. Towards the end of the song, in the third verse, it then shifts to a typical FARIN URLAUB RACING TEAM song. Lyrically, "Der N." is worth noting, as it clearly takes a stand against Nazis / the AfD.
Somewhat strange is also the fourth song, which drifts in the middle into some weird jazz, soul, funk - I have no idea - sound, terrible! However, the song is really good except for that dreadful minute. I hope this minute was only cynically included on the album to stretch it to almost 1 hour.
"In den Straßen von New Ravensborough" and "Pressetext", the fifth and sixth songs on "Who do you want to be?", then see all music styles meet in the intros, verses, choruses, interludes, and the outro of "Pressetext"... So the two cakes (songs) don't taste "that" good to me, although some individual ingredients are really tasty.
Much better is the seventh and shortest OXMO song "eSKApismus" at 1:17 min. - the longest song is 6:01 minutes, by the way. The next 4 songs then take off again, aside from the 2-3 strange interludes / outros....
The last, the 12th song on the album "Benzin", doesn't really ignite anymore. But the small fire doesn't go out either; it just smolders on.
As a bonus, the OXMOs included track 8 as a dub mix on the CD, well... I actually prefer the other two bonus songs "Stormtrooper of love" and "Ralley" much more....
In conclusion, "Who do you want to be?" feels like an "October" to me....
Many songs from the 15 tracks are like a "golden October", some almost like an "October Revolution"! Others show the "gloomy days of an October", with rain, hail, and storms. "Black ice in October" is also not excluded, which is why one is supposed to be on winter tires from "October" to Easter. Although that doesn't necessarily have to be the case in K+K, but here in the depths of East Westphalia.
Still, as I said at the beginning, I am quite torn about the album.
