| Artist |
| Goethes Erben |
| Title |
| Zeitlupe |
| Format/Cat |
| 2CD TRI 401 CD |
| Label |
| Trisol |
| Style |
| Goth |
| Date of review |
| 11th October 2010 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 6.5 |
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I well remember my first encounter with Goethes Erben; a seemingly intimate headlining slot at one of The Invitation festivals in Ghent a few years back; that they had to follow a storming set from VNV Nation didn't deter them & they turned in an entertaining set. I'm not actually sure if the band is still going (that Henke has been playing GE tracks live under his own steam seems to suggest they might not be) but, be that as it may, here we have this restrospective double album release, covering the years 1989-2006; what is strange is the way that Mindy Kumbalek appears on only one of the sleeve photos which concentrate on Henkes & the accompanying musicians & dancers. It's an injustice of the first order as both her commitment to the band & her high level of musicianship deserves more respect than that, as does her high level of musicianship which is particularly evident on the liver version of 'Iphgenie' & even more so on the anthemic 'Abseits Der Lichtes', where her excellent piano work compliments Henke's nattering away in that style of his that sounds slightly unhinged to non-German speakers.
This, then, serves as a fitting tribute to a well-respected band & acts as a good taster for the uninitiated as to what their music is all about (not sure if there's much to tempt the diehard fan, though). No doubt most of you have heard their cover of 'The Mercy Seat', sung in German & titled 'Sitz Der Gnade' & sounding very different from the original which offers a pretty good pointer as to their style. Similarly, some of you might be aware of 'Glasgarten', the dreamy, romantic collaboration with Wolfheim's Peter Heppner although this is contrasted by the triumphant feel of 'Die Form' & particularly so by the more rocking tracks such as 'Himmelgrau' or 'Nichts Bleibt Wie Es War' which boasts some stunning guitar work, even if I still can't get my head around the fact that this is actually the Still Silent track 'Shockwave' that was originally sung by Peter Spilles! Disc two seems, for the most part, more intense than disc one with the abstract 'Koma' paving the way while, throughout, each track is more varied as the duo spin some adventurous, multi-faceted musical tales in a manner that might seem a tad self-indulgent but it's this sticking to their guns & refusing to compromise that has won them the devoted cult following they've long had.
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