Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights

Verdict: 4/5
Label

PIAS Recordings

CATALOG NO

PIASD4804LP

RELEASE DATE

January 2014

Written By

Dragos Rusu

Published

February 28, 2014

The cigarette in the ashtray burns in its own apathy, with no one left in the room to smoke it. They are all gone now; I can see through the thick and stifling smoke that I just got new wings.

This great album from the German band Bohren & Der Club Of Gore might be the perfect soundtrack for my flight above the world. The gentle tones of piano and saxophone create once again the eerie and melancholic sound that the four members used to call it "doom ridden jazz music".

If you’ve previously heard albums such as ”Midnight Radio”, ”Black Earth”, or even the debut ”Gore Motel” you will get comfortable with the unique sound of this band, which, once again (for the eight time I guess) abounds in ambiance, haunted melodies discretely overlapped on one of the lowest tempos I’ve ever heard. Or felt, actually. Initially called Bohren, the German quartet chose the Dutch band Gore, as inspiration point to play instrumental music.

Every track from ”Piano Nights” takes me so far away, that I forget where I initially departed from. It has an unbelievable force to keep the tension alive throughout the album, and yes, it might even make you wonder at the end of the listening, ”what the heck was this? Was I dreaming? Was it reality? My reality? Was I flying? ” The musical ambience can be felt on every track, and except for the resemblances, each song keeps amazing me. In an interview from a couple of years ago, Christoph Clöser was referring to the band’s music as dull, even though anyone can have his or her own personal feeling upon this music. ”If the audience is strong enough to suffer uneventful music, we and the listeners can celebrate as a kind of a mass.”

I really can’t decide for some highlights of this album, or maybe I could just count nine different piano sessions which all work great. This is neither another Badalamenti type of soundtrack, nor a Twin Peaks score; but you really must listen to it very careful, with your ears wide wide open, because it is so fragile and if you treat it in a superficial way, you can lose certain wonderful pieces of music.

Tracklist:

1. Im Rauch
2. Bei Rosarotem Licht
3. Fahr Zur Hölle
4. Irrwege 3:39
5. Ganz Leise Kommt Die Nacht
6. Unrasiert
7. Verloren (Alles)
8. Segeln Ohne Wind
9. Komm Zurück Zu Mir