Fake. Die Nerven

It is less than a year ago Die Nerven first featured on this blog, with an album that was out for some time when I discovered it. On 'Out' a lot of things came together and they appeared to be all working. (Read on here if you like: https://wonomagazine.blogspot.nl/2017/06/out-die-nerven.html.) So here's the band's new record. Again with an English name, where the band sings in German the whole of the way.

The album starts strong. An electric guitar and bass that sound the like the devil is on their tail. The drums kick in to give the song even more pace. It is Die Nerven alright. A song called 'Neue Wellen'. Now I remember 'Die Neue Welle' around 1980 and not liking by far most of it. This 'Neue Wellen' is a rock song of the mysterious kind. The band kicks up a storm here and there, yet in the way the guitar is played, there's this nano second of space giving the song a very distinct rhythm. Oh, and yes, there's decay and corpses. It all starts with a lie though. Fake! Falsche Fragen. It is all around these days and Die Nerven is angry. That much is clear.

The 80s are all over the opening song, but with an attack that was seldom heard at the time of post new wave. The weed has been taken out of the music. Now in 2018 there is a lot to be worried about, even angry about. Die Nerven have found a way to voice these feelings and emotions. Singer Julian Knoth has a few voices going for him. The angry, the detached, the dreamy. He can put it all in his voice. Listen e.g. to 'Niemals'. The song takes you from a postpunk ride right through The Strokes like sequences, giving away a lot Knoth can do for you.

Promo photo: Ralv Milberg

The first two songs already show so much differences in approach without dropping an inch of quality and self-confidence that it would be a huge surprise of the rest if the album would turn out to be a disappointment.

The fun continues in exactly the right way. There's no need for Die Nerven to make every song an angry punk shout competition. In 'Roter Sand' the band finds an in between form. The tempo is lower, the anger comes and goes. The tension is released allowing for a dreamy, soft ending to the song. The way it began.

'Alles Falsch' or is it "Alles richtig"? Make up your mind! A song that shows how superb Die Nerven is able to work with dynamics within a song. This approach is what really labels Fake. The band plays with their songs, with the expectations of its listeners. The quietest moments can truly explode into an orgy of sound, to move back into complete innocence without effort and a loss of conviction. Die Nerven plays tricks with you while delivering truly exciting music. Live this ought lead to total eruptions within audiences. Something I hope to see fairly soon.

Die Nerven has delivered another record that moves far beyond the (post)punk-indierock it is usually associated with. The band has acquired a depth that ought to bring in many other sort of rock fans who enjoyed rock music since the second half of the 70s. Die Nerven are able to make its music not only exciting for the body but also for the mind. Just listen how the band plays with a song like 'Explosionen'. (And that is only the moment when the anthem 'Kann's Nicht Gestern Sein' starts. A song for all your yesterdays and tomorrows.) It has it all and Die Nerven deliver it in a perfect way.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy Fake here:

https://dienerven.bandcamp.com/


Here's the link to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g