Abwärts: Der Westen Ist Einsam & D.A.F.: Alles Ist Gut

Ever since I've listened to a few bad tracks by bands such as Die Toten Hosen, German punk music has not been my thing. Then I came upon Abwärts, a band formed in the late seventies in Hamburg. They made a few albums, some of which gained some popularity. So far, I've heard one, Die Westen ist Einsam. It comes as no surprise that the music bears similarities with Einstürzende Neubauten / Birthday Party territories as two of the members joined EN. Der Westen ist Einsam is catchy, gritty and cavernous at the same time. But don't pay too much attention to the lyrics, please. It was released in 1982 and the title of the album by itself earns my blessings. With songs called "deprimiert", and follwed by that, "sei froh", you can't go wrong either. And you can't go wrong with cow bells. Those who have a firmer acqaintance with Abwärts than I do complain that this is a record that is much more "mainstream" than the earlier efforts. I hope I will find out whether there is any truth in that. (last.fm)

If you are interested in this, you should check out Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft: Alles ist Gut (1981), too. That's a fucking amazing album, which everyone should hear. Words fall short off how great this is. It has the genius of Suicide. Direct, raw, nasty, short and sweet. "Sei still. schliesse deine Augen. bitte denk an nichts. glaube mir. alles ist gut." A synth has never sounded crunchier and few records - Suicide, but few others - can compare with this in terms of focus. If you know anything that even remotely resembles this album - tell me.