Jens Rachut is a major influence in the German Punkrock scene. Bands like Turbostaat or Pascow have learned their lesson from him - especially if you listen to the vocals. The 65 year old musician and stage actor has released many records with bands such as Dackelblut or Kommando Sonne-Nmilch. Now the Hamburg native has released a new album called "Tiere in Tschernobyl" with a band called "Maulgruppe". Teaming up with the musicians of Ten Volt Shock, Rachut delivers a record that is equally vigorous as it is disturbing. The record features an astounding mix of rough guitar riffs, mesmerizing synth sounds and the trademark vocals by Rachut. Punk and New Wave meets Electro and the result is an inconvenient soundscape that evokes images of underground clubs, surveillance cameras and blackhats penetrating firewalls (or maybe that's just me). Melodic speckles clash with the coarse vocals by Rachut. I have a hard time naming a record that sounds similar to this.The lyrics seem existencialist and accusatory. "Jäger" deals with the daily routine and its down sides, "Tinderbaby" picks at dating in the digital age. The importance of the record lies in the fact that Rachut tells us things we'd rather not hear - but that bear truth. "Geh zum Arzt Du Affe" for example is a tale about aging and decay, something we all experience but often want to block out as long as possible.
"Tiere in Tschernobyl" may not be a record that I will listen to very often because it's grim and unrelenting. But at the same time it's uncompromising and original - and I think that's a good thing in music.
"Tiere in Tschernobyl" by Maulgruppe was released via Majorlabel (that's what it is called, yes!) on Friday, March 22nd.
Here you can listen to "Tinderbaby":