BLECHREIZ are releasing a new album!
No!
Yes!
Ooohh....
Really? Yes, really!
After 13 years, a new album that goes by the beautiful name “Flight of the Bumble Bee“. This means the flight of the bumblebee. As we all know, bumblebees cannot fly from a physical or aerodynamic standpoint. The bumblebee doesn’t care. One could perhaps spin this statement further...
BLECHREIZ are already quite old, but the band doesn’t care.
Since 1993, with interruptions, this ska formation has existed, more or less in its original lineup with 8 - 11 musicians, not always often, but always steadily on the boards that mean the world.
In good old school fashion, there is a packed CD here with 16 songs and almost an hour of ska music.
BLECHREIZ, I must shamefully admit as a Berliner, have always been a bit under my radar. I knew them, had seen them live several times in the past, but they never really blew me away. I don’t even know exactly why. All the ingredients were right, and the band has a lot of what I like.
So how is this album?
The first three tracks of the album are quite a blast and are exciting. After that, things get a bit calmer, but still musically of the highest quality, and when I think that the songs in the studio are always played a bit slower and less wild than live on stage, I believe that these songs will also go forward live and be fun.
The Berliners also have some interesting guests, such as Memoria Insuficiente from Bogotá. This combo is one of the most well-known bands from Colombia.
There are also two live tracks where you can hear the energy that the band radiates on stage. Recorded, of course, at SO36!
Whether one really needs a total of five versions of “Bumble Bee” is something I leave to everyone to decide for themselves. You can tell that they can do a lot, and all five versions are not wrong. But are they good fillers or proof of the band’s creativity and high playing quality? This too should be decided by each person for themselves.
If you subtract the five versions of one song, there are still 12 songs on the tracklist. I’m always up for live recordings and won’t subtract the two songs. So we stay at 12 songs. That’s still decent for an album, and the already mentioned high quality of musical skill makes this record something you enjoy listening to.
BLECHREIZ remain a band that I can surely see again and who are not bad. From my perspective, the big hit has not been achieved by the band here. Their skill, their varied playing, and the dance between the different styles of ska continue to make the band very interesting.
The fans of the band have probably not read this far, but are already long lost in exuberant dancing... soon again live, in real life, in sweat and unrestrained enthusiasm.
It’s great that you still exist, dear BLECHREIZ
