ALBUM REVIEW: Wonderful Life – Voodoo Beach

German indie rock band VOODOO BEACH have just put out their latest album Wonderful Life. The album itself has been two years in the making and contains their signature sound and blend of indie-rock, jangle pop and neo-psychedelia that, according to Everything Is Noise, creates “an atmosphere that feels right out of a Stephen King film adaptation intro,” which is an apt description given the overall cool and collected mood heard throughout this record.

Opening track Fremde Fenster helps to set the vibe yet at the same time doesn’t fully reveal the entire journey the listener is about to go on. It begins with a slow alternative guitar with playback that increases in volume before the full band joins in to create a moody track. What is an ongoing theme though is how the band sound so confident and ooze such incredible chemistry as they go through the motions on every song on Wonderful.

Things never stay the same as is clear when the band move onto Nein that takes us into punk territory with some elements of grunge sprinkled in. With each track exploring different sounds and genres, the one thing that connects them all is, along with the band’s chemistry and confidence, an overarching theme of shoegazey music that makes you feel like you’re in a trance.

Other moments that are worth mentioning include Die Hand, with its distorted bass and rather aggressive sounding vocals that exist in a realm of sounding harsh and almost growling; Meine Freunde, which is a beautiful blend of indie and art-rock with a piano that creates an air of calm; Immer Noch, that has a fantastic energy and has a cool sounding guitar that can only be described as funk-alternative; and finally the title track, featuring John Moods, which seems to be heavily inspired by 70s punk and is the only song that has English during chorus.

Wonderful Life is beautiful record in which each song takes on a life of its own while still feeling connected to the overarching whole. It’s hard to compare any of it to already existing artists, yet you’re able to pinpoint bits of inspiration taken from movements within the rock genre, and above all it is certainly a record worth experiencing.

Rating: 7/10

Wonderful Life is out now via Crazysane Records.

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