The Beat Cutlets from Berlin have laid a brilliant career in recent years. At the beginning they were still stuck in the punk / hardcore drawer, so that the band is itself never been particularly happy. That's probably the reason why they have expanded their musical cosmos over the years continuously. They looked on their second album Launched (1999) almost in vain for radio-friendly songs, the opposite is now 12 years later the case: Boombox is full of pop melodies and catchy choruses, the appeal to the rock friend and the inclined listeners no stomach pain will prepare. It is the normal career of almost every band, but still come back the old discussions on and with it the question: Is this still punk? Rather not. Does this mean, conversely, that the Beatsteaks have sold their souls to the devil-commerce? After the first few Hörgängen also the answer is no. The now sixth album lives in my opinion of a light-heartedness, or rather shitty matter attitude, boombox turns into a varied thing. The band does what you can think straight and what you just fun, what often leads to completely new territory: The opening track 'Fix it' turns out to be unusually bleak and can equate into your ears; the first single 'Milk & Honey' is indeed very trendy, but offers the usual catchy choruses and is a welcome change; 'Cheap Comments' to me is clearly one of the great highlights in his groovy bass line and the varied arrangements; the groove is very important also in 'Let's see', which makes use of the Ska and thus offers one of the smaller surprises of the album; in 'Under a clear blue sky' accepts Peter vocals in the verses, and gives this mid-tempo song that required touch of melancholy; and between all the earwigs and supple melodies screams Bernd in the nearly one-minute punk number 'Behaviour' the hell out of them, which will meet one or two after the previous course of the plate in front of the head; also rather melancholic and almost thoughtful, if there should be something in the musical landscape of the five Berlin, come 'Access adrenaline' and the last song 'House on Fire' over. The consequence of all the new features is that familiar songs and sounds rather belong to the weaker songs. But even they are not disposable, but can ignite well: 'Bullets from another dimension' which is like, the Beatsteaks back wish of earlier; Who does not have at least mitnicken at 'Alright', is dead in my eyes; the song that probably most needed familiarization laps is 'Automatic', in which the guys got support from Peter Fox. Here approaches from Dancehall and also withdrawn from Ska and chanting to a five-minute dance number are verwurschtelt that probably the biggest exclamation mark behind the Beatsteaks have gone in new directions "sets. In summary it can be said: Boombox has little of the rudeness and rowdiness of the first two albums; the development since smacksmash arrived exactly where they had been able to guess. But as a sellout I would not call. Although the true highlights need to emerge and are not instantly recognizable but never is an album of the Berlin so been conclusive in itself, as is the case this time. And one thing always remains the same: the Beatsteaks write songs that stay in your ear and make an album that turn out to be small treasure chests of innovative ideas and musical quotations. And Boombox is no exception. Only they are so far largely landed from their usual sound and also by the expectations. And perhaps that's punk.
