About seven months ago, I wrote about the second album of the Bavarian band Heischneida (the review on ramtatta.de can be read here: https://www.ramtatta.de/s/reviews/f/details/id/9312/) and now here comes the second review of a band from Bavaria with the corresponding dialect.
The Bavarian dialect is a bit difficult for the Prussians to understand, but I’m putting in the effort, and somehow it has hooked me.
Karin Rabhansl (that's how you say it in Bavaria, right?) comes from the Bavarian Forest and has released her fifth album, “Rodeo.”
“Rodeo” is, as the name suggests, a wild ride, where sooner or later you get thrown off, but as long as you’re on top, it goes up and down. The rodeo can thus also be seen as a metaphor for life. Holding on is the order of the day when it starts, and here it’s not just a saying but reality.
The 13 songs are wild, intense, rocky, take a clear stance, and almost give the impression that the little horse is running away with us.
Musically, Karin has primarily built a fat drum sound and a massive guitar wall, which is supported by the keyboard. The whole thing results in a massive sound that is loud and powerful.
Lyrically, Rabhansl doesn’t hold back. She is confident, not to please others, but to make it clear that she is not a little doll. She wonderfully illustrates this in “Anett.” It clearly states what is acceptable and what is not, and above all, it shows that our society still has a long way to go regarding the issue of sexism. In “Anett,” brass instruments even come into play, which just adds even more to this song. One of the best songs on the album.
Shortly after comes “Baby, lauf,” both in terms of quality and its position on the album. A sad song, as many women have unfortunately experienced and still experience today. Having the strength to leave is hard. Perhaps this song gives strength to the affected women, and for the men who behave like this, this song might hold up a mirror that helps them treat women differently and better in the future.
Karin Rabhansl plays the rocky songs, which don’t always have to be fast, but in terms of arrangement, they are simply not ballads, as if she has hardly done anything else. However, she shows that she can and has done something different in the last three songs. These are very calm, leaning towards ballads, dreamy, sometimes almost ethereal, and reveal a completely different Karin Rabhansl.
Personally, I favor the first ten songs, as they simply resonate more with me and speak to me more. There will certainly be people who see it the other way around. Therefore, I cannot view the last three songs as fundamentally bad, but only as different...
