Does anyone still remember the cigarette brand “Ernte 23”? I hear it’s back on the market.
The thought of the cigarette brand came to me when I held the album by ERNTE 77 in my hands. The only connection the band has to the tobacco brand is, for me, the age of the band members or their parents; I don’t want to offend anyone. So the name is already great, but what else? Well...read for yourself...but I can already reveal everything!
The CD comes in a classic plastic case, just like in the old days. The cover and the booklet are in black and green, in the classic DIY punk style. The booklet strongly resembles the booklets of the Terrorgruppe, albeit without pictures, but the font could be the same. The album is logically titled “The Red Album.” It makes sense and gives a nice reference to certain albums named after colors. We know the Black Album, the White Album, the Black and White Album, and since the color red hasn’t been claimed yet, ERNTE 77 now has the claim to this color.
So that’s how we got to the red album, even though the CD is silver. Crazy world.
In general, crazy world. What ERNTE 77 offers on their album left me speechless upon first listen. That happens very, very rarely.
ERNTE 77 plays wonderfully melodic German punk. Yes, German punk! That’s it!
It’s actually also a bit about drinking, as in the great opener “Wer feiern kann, kann auch ausschlafen.” This old slogan has finally been turned into a song, and what a song it is. An intelligent, funny text that keeps me grinning the whole time, because wage labor can wait, and anyway, what you can do tomorrow doesn’t matter.
The second song picks up exactly where song number one left off. Just for the lines....
I think it’s great when I’m tipsy listening to my favorite album
And I sing along loudly, no matter if I disturb others.
...they deserve the punk rock lyric award 2022!
From the third song on, there’s a keyboard that joins the sound for the first time. The melodies from the keyboard sound like they’re from the 90s. Tell me ERNTE 77, how old is this keyboard? Was it ever cool? But it fits in wonderfully here.
Can you tell that I’m excited? Yes? Good!
The fourth song especially reminds me of Die Kassierer in terms of lyrics and has the wonderful title “Planeten im Test.” It could have been written by Wölfi.
And it continues with “Besoffen meditieren” and the absolutely great, because it’s a tribute to the Terrorgruppe, “Mein Dildo ist wichtiger als Deutschland.” I can’t stop grinning.
This band has so many references to 80s, 90s, and 00s punk rock that it’s dizzying. They do it all without ever seeming forced. They shake it out of their leather jackets effortlessly. Phenomenal.
“Ernte 77 is preparing the second punk revival”! No joke, a text full of self-irony and megalomania. I’m really into that.
The red album, my new favorite album!
Please, dear people from Cologne, come to Berlin sometime!
If you see a man with tears in his eyes and a grin on his face in front of the stage, that’s me!!
