On Friday, the German folk rock band Versengold published their new album „Lautes Gedenken“. It marks their 20 year anniversary as a band and hence includes a song celebrating that exactly. I discovered Versengold a few years ago, first when one of their songs was played in one of the tents at the medieval Christmas market in Dortmund. Later I saw them live at said market when they played, if I remember correctly, on the same day as Fiddler’s Green. Their song „Winterflut 1717“ struck a nerve and I decided to follow the band. They’re no longer as much of a folk rock band as they used to be (although Lautes Gedenken has some very obvious Irish folk influence and I think that’s rather the direction they’re aiming for now), and they’re especially no longer a medieval folk band. Some people go as far as calling them „Schlager“ but damn, so be it, their music is still amazing and I can definitely live with listening to a Schlager band that is making some pretty good music.
Yet, they’re a band I’ve decided to only see live at medieval markets. I’ve been to one of their headline shows last year and I noticed that their audience is not the kind of audience I feel welcome in (I didn’t like being side-eyed like I was weird when I joined the band-initiated circle pit …). BUT I’ve seen them at the MPS in Bückeburg this year and it was amazing, And it gave me somewhat of a headstart for their new album, which I’ll come to now. My copy hasn’t been delivered yet although it was shipped on Thursday and I have no idea when it’ll arrive because DHL didn’t announce it in our app – so I had to listen to it first on Spotify. My bad. (Update, December 2023: DHL has lost the CD and it had to be sent out again.)
The album starts with the song Glimmer und Gloria, which is a nice opener that basically celebrates their anniversary. With this song, Versengold decided to enter the German pre-selection for next year’s Eurovision Song Contest – and unfortunately I personally think it’s a bad choice. Not because the song is bad per se, but because there are a lot of songs that are much better on this album.
One of those songs is Wir feiern den Norden, which is an ode to their home in northern Germany. The band was founded in Bremen, all members are from the north of Germany and that is exactly the vibe that is transported in this song. I like the rhythm, I love the vibe and I love to sing and clap along. While listening to this song, I feel like I was from the north as well – which couldn’t be further from reality. And it makes me want to go to Bremen (which is one of my absolute favourite cities in Germany) to take a walk along the Weser (and then watch a match of Werder Bremen, who are still my favourite football club even though I stopped following football).
Song number 3 is one that they played in Bückeburg already and it’s what I’d call a typical Versengold-song: Flaschengeist comes with fun lyrics, a nice vibe, a nice speed and a nice sing-along part at their live shows. It’s one of those songs that are not entirely serious – which is what I love the band for.
The next one was the first they published as a single of their new album. Tod und Trommeln comes with a serious topic and touched my heart just as much as Winterflut 1717 did. I can’t put into words how much I love this song and I guess it’s my favourite from this album. Versengold-songs often have an ironic, almost sarcastic touch when they criticise today’s society – but I love those that are entirely serious.
Sally O’Brien confused me at first. Is it a Christmas song? Is it a pub song? At first I seriously thought it was a Christmas song and then we were back at the pub and well, I guess it is just both. It has fun lyrics and follows the tradition of praising pub culture and beer. So I guess this one counts as another typical Versengold song. And the Christmassy touch is perfect for the upcoming season, so I kinda see myself listening to this song a lot in December. (Also please let me kneel down for a moment for the instrumentals – not sure if it’s the violin or the nyckelharpa or both – it’s amazing.)
The next song is the one that gave the album its title: Lautes Gedenken was one of the songs that I first heard at MPS. And when they played it, I cried like a baby. I cried my eyes out and while writing this (and listening to the song) I am crying again. This year I lost my uncle and my cat (and yes, pets are family members, fuck you if you think otherwise). And I somehow love the idea of remembering your loved ones in a loud, celebrating way instead of weeping in silence. I love everything about this song.
Labyrinth is the second song so far on this album that I didn’t know before it was published. Hence I don’t have as much of an opinion about it yet. But my first impression is that I like the melody and speed of it. Once again it has stunning instrumental parts and I like the message of the song. Yup, it’s amazing. I’m willing to think that there’s nothing on this album that isn’t good.
It’s followed by Im Bier sind Dinge drin, which I also heard live in Bückeburg and already back then I almost peed my pants and choked on laughter. My reaction hasn’t changed much since the first time, I still can’t stop giggling. This song is one of those mildly ironic critical songs, mocking conspiracy theories by stating that there’s something in our beer that makes us do dumb things. The lyrics include the typical vocabulary of conspiracy theorists and it’s truly a masterpiece. It might be one of my favourites on this album, although at this point it is difficult to name any favourites because I just love everything so much.
Dunerweer is an instrumental song and I don’t have to say much about it. I just want to close my eyes and enjoy the great work of those great musicians. It sounds kinda epic, like a movie soundtrack. But more like a … pixar movie. I don’t know. I like it and I like the sound of the bells throughout the whole song.
Zum Horizont is a collab with a talented artist Versengold already worked with several times: Annika „Annie Hurdy Gurdy“ Riediger (yes, the new hurdy-gurdyist of Eluveitie) joined Versengold again for this masterpiece. She’s toured with them several times before and joined them for their song Eis und Asche on their last album. The outcome is a beautiful ballad with beautiful lyrics and just a beautiful everything (yes, I am very eloquent).
Now we’re back to the more ironic criticism on society: Sorry Marie reflects the position a lot of adults have these days towards younger generations: Yes, we fucked up, I’m sorry that you were born too late to have a nice future and even if I could change something about it I’m a lot more interested in my own comfort than your future. It’s hilarious and bitter at the same time and is a nice follow-up to Was kost die Welt.
The second to last song is Mal der Hund, mal der Baum. The title already implies that this song isn’t very serious either – sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the tree. The melody sounds slightly familiar, I feel like it’s a similar melody as it was already used in a different Versengold song. The lyrics, though, are once again a masterpiece. You should’ve seen my face when I first heard the word „Arschkartenhaus“ (a combination of the word „Arschkarte“ – the „ass card“ which you pull when you have e.g. bad luck with something or when life is just being unfair – and the word „Kartenhaus“, a house of cards). I don’t know if the song is motivational or not, I haven’t quite decided yet, but at least it makes me laugh.
The final song is called Eintagsfliege. It has a nice vibe, starts with whistling and makes a nice ending to the album. The song is about reincarnation and how the lyrical I wishes to be reborn as a mayfly because then life would be less serious and one would live more in the moment. I guess that’s a nice closing, right?
So all in all … from my very own point of view there’s not a single song I dislike on this album and that is pretty damn special because it happens very rarely that an album convinces me from first to last song entirely at the first listen. Now I’m desperately waiting for my delivery so that I can put this album into my CD shelf, too. And then I need to figure out when to see them next live in a setting I feel comfortable in without paying shittons of money (yes, they play at the medieval Christmas market in Dortmund, but I somehow have my doubts that this show would meet my needs, so I’m waiting for the festival season next year.)