Glasperlenspiel’s new album Tag X has addictive melodies and some very catchy beats
German electro-pop band Glasperlenspiel’s new album Tag X is my choice for today’s The Daily Album, and for no other reason than it was a recommended album when I signed into Deezer this morning, so I played the first track and I loved it. On further listening, I felt similarly about much of the rest of the album.
In case you’re not familiar with them, (I wasn’t until recently), Glasperlenspiel means ‘The Glass Bead Game’, and is taken from the famous Herman Hesse novel of the same name.
The band is primarily made up of duo Carolin Niemczyk (vocals) and Daniel Grunenberg (vocals and keyboard), with other band members added for live performances.
As for Tag X, or ‘Day X’, their latest album, it’s not a spectacular album but it is a solid and very sophisticated 21st century electro-pop offering (ie: not much of the classic 80s electro-pop about it), that has some incredible songs that burrow deep into your memory.
I particularly liked the opening track ‘Wölfe / Interlude Tag X’ with its spoken introduction, the catchy melody and the feel of melancholy. ‘Geiles Leben’ was also a favorite, as it’s a great little dance number with its slightly futuristic intro, and both Daniel and Caro featuring so heavily on vocals.
And, of course, this being a German language album, there’s a song called ‘Phönix’ (does every German artist releasing new music recently have to have a song about a phoenix?).
Remember too, I’m looking at Tag X from the perspective of someone who does not speak much German, so the lyrics for Glasperlenspiel’s songs mean little to me. And that means I have to concentrate on the melodies, the vocals and the ‘sound’ — all of which I loved.
I do, also, like that, unlike many German singers, Glasperlenspiel sing in their native language. Particularly as, up until last year when I started to hear German spoken a lot, I used to think it was an ugly language. Now, I’m quite addicted to how it sounds, particularly in lyrics.
To make me like this album even more, the deluxe version has a second CD that features eight live tracks. Tracks that were definitely ‘bigger’ sounding songs than the 13 songs on the first CD. They also give you a great idea of what type of concert Glasperlenspiel puts together, and all I can say is I’d pay to see them.
Tag X was released on May 29th, 2015, and is Glasperlenspiel’s third album.
You can hear all 21 tracks on the album in their entirety in the Deezer widget below if you have an account. If not, why not sign up for one? It takes 30 seconds, and it’s free.