This is a young band of newcomers from Mönchengladbach, Germany, who formed while still at school in 2018 before releasing their debut full album Rolling The Dice in the summer of 2021. Their style is a nicely varied mix of hard rock, alt-rock and just a touch of punkishness, and they’ve been getting favourable reviews from a series of festivals in Germany this summer.
“The idea for the EP arose shortly after the first album in the summer of 2021 and was an attempt to showcase as many facets out of our music as possible” says Leander (lead singer). “The debut album showed that we have several styles, but we wanted to refine them further. When you listen to “Individuum” you can hear pretty much everything, from classic hard rock to poppy tunes to alt-rock“
“We also wanted to catch the listener not only musically but also lyrically. The themes of the lyrics range from criticism of the current “faster, higher, better” culture to the struggle with depression, to the simple joy of a summer day with friends. After stuggling to come up with a decent name for the EP, a friend gave us the idea that the word “individual” doesn’t have to refer strictly to one person, but can refer to a group. Given that the EP was created during the Covid pandemic and we felt that brought us closer together as a band, we finally decided on the name Individuum.
The EP features six tracks with a satisfyingly wide range of moods across them. The opening track Silence of the Night is in the standard style of punky three-chord-thrash-plus-big-chorus so beloved by lots of Scandanavian bands; it’s okay but there’s mountains of this sort of stuff out there, strangely the weakest track on this set, in my Humble…Between Two Sides confirms this, the second track being more interesting, perhaps on a par with UK’s Tax The Heat? More edgy, more variety within the track, more interest.
Secret Little Fantasy is altogether different, it’s got a great “White Reggae” back-beat, and it’s bugging me that it reminds me of something I can’t quite pin down….but nice track, nice production, great guitar-work, a really catchy ear-worm! And here’s the thing – the first half is very poppy, radio-friendly and you think it’s winding down…then a complete change of mood takes over in the bridge section, slow, darker, reflective…before the staccato,bouncy beat comes back. A very clever track.
Rather Be a Dreamer is a more dreamy, alternative sound, a rock vibe with a bubbly, electronic edge and whispered multi-layered backing vocals. It’s good! I Dont Want Much kicks in with a much more “classic rock” feel. Again a staccato arrangement in terms of riffs, full of melody, a big chorus and a short but sweet solo – it’s fun! The last of the EP’s six-some is I Wonder, which starts gently in the form of a ballad, and flows majestically, powerfully along with a touch of blues, some more great guitar licks, a really strong note to end on.
This young band are a versatile crew, displaying a maturity and variety of playing and song-writing which bodes very well for the future – remember their name, you’ll be hearing it again very soon!
After three advance singles, “Individuum”, a new EP is out now on CD and all digital platforms.
