The cover to “Hard Live” is definitely Country, with a pencil
drawing of a cowboy holding a saddle. This band is Country, too, only in
this case the country is Germany. But you can feel the spirit from the
other side of the Atlantic
“Crash” is hard driving boogie rock, with tasty honky tonk
piano by Wolfgang Funk. “Peepshow” is in a similar energetic vein.
Either would be a good choice for a honky tonk jukebox.
“Station Man” shows its European origins, despite authentic
sounding blues harp by Steffen Winkler. Alex Fuchs sings quite well in
English, but his inflection is not remotely Southern.
The lyrics give them away – “Working at a railroad
station/Working hard from nine to five.” If you were in a railroad
station from nine to five, presumably the only work would be selling
tickets or cleaning the toilets.
I do not mean to critical, though. I would much rather hear this
band than the vast majority of the pap on my local Country FM station.
It is wonderful to hear the respect that these Europeans have for our
culture, particularly since you might wonder if the U.S. even deserves
it anymore.
“Lose Your Head” is more of a straightforward rock and roll
song, again with lyrics a bit quirky for Americans (i.e.,“There is no
time to think about the rat”). It features nice guitar work by Dieter
Gottschling. Fuchs and Winkler also play guitar on the EP.
“Hard Live” only falters with the seventh and last song
“Silent Day”, a nearly six minute weeper with lyrics that include
“I remember how we touched/I remember how we kissed”. And each
stanza begins “You’re the one for me/I’ll never lose you again.”
The only other problem is having Asja Karamov constantly on
backing vocals. She seems to be a good enough singer to carry a song on
her own, which would add some variety.
The production, by Two Moon and Markus Kopschitz, is excellent.
It sounds as good as a studio EP, and would seem like one except for the
applause and the beginnings and endings of songs.
Web Site: http://www.twomoon.de/
- Dave Howell
