27. March 2025
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Media Review

Erik Cohen – Northern Soul

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Erik Cohen - Northern Soul

Erik Cohen - Northern Soul
3.8

Rating

 3.8/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Straight German rock music
  • Some really nice and catching songs
  • Nostalgic feelings

Flyctory.com Cons

  • To volatile levels of songs

Quite some interesting rock music to be released on 26th February 2021. I originally wanted to start my reviews of guitar-prone music sounds with the Detroit Stories by Alice Cooper – but then I ran in into German rock tunes by Erik Cohen, which I just had to share with you. Here are my thoughts about his new album Northern Soul.

 

Erik Cohen – About The Artist

Erik Cohen is a German rock musician from Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein, the Northernmost state of Germany. His civil name is Daniel Geiger, he however became famous as Jack Letten, which was his artist name when he lead the hardcore punk band Smoke Blow. Geiger founded the band in 1997, which merged with the Cologne post punk band Genepool in 2003. Geiger / Letten left the band in 2008. Since 2011, he is doing solo music. His debut EP has been Kapitän (“Captain”) in 2003. His first chart entry was the album Weisses Rauschen, which placed into the German album charts in early 2016. The album III barely missed the Top 50 in 2018.

 

Erik Cohen – Northern Soul – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 41 minutes.

1. Intro (Northern Soul)

The album starts with the sound of the waves of the ocean, electric guitar, accordion sounds and some background choir-alike elements – it almost feels like a shanty. Atmospheric start of the album.

2. Nach dem Sturm

Nach dem Sturm (“After the storm”) is the first song on the album. Erik Cohen presents a straight rocker, which a lot of potential to sing-along to the lyrics. Easy to listen to like a schlager song, but with the power of electric guitars and a hard rock alike voice. Nice one.

3. Millionenstadt

Wir fliegen hoch,
über die Dächer der Millionenstadt
Und wir sehen weit,
bis zu den Orten die sonst keiner kennt

(“We’re flying high
over the roof of the million people town.
And we look into the distance
to the places, who nobody else knows”)

Great rocker, which again comes with very anthemic and catching song. The powerful electric guitar and the keyboard backing sound great an impressive sound.

4. Lokomotive

Lokomotive (“Locomotive”) reminds me of the songs of the Neue Deutsche Welle German genre of the early 1980’s: simple lyrics, catchy and rhythmic. A lot of great and well-known German all-time hits have been written in this period. Erik Cohen does his interpretation with guitars and skeleton in the music video.

5. Junger Matrose

Junger Matrose (“Young Sailor”) is a dramatic story with a Nordic touch. Another song with its very own character.

6. Bomberjacken

Bomberjacken (“Bomber Jackets”) is a song dealing with hooligans. The song reminds of Böhse Onkelz tracks. I cannot relate to it – also because the praising of the good old times in less commercial soccer might also be done with other metaphors. Fans of the song, however, are right that it is a powerful sing-a-long.

7. Schleswig-Holstein

Country singers praise the country village life with a pick up truck, ice cold beer and a hot girl – and that’s the way Erik Cohen is singing about being home. My home town Cologne is quite far away from Schleswig-Hostein, but I definitely feel it is a cool track (and the video is nice as well).

8. Halloween

Halloween is another homage on the good, old times – this time about Erik Cohen’s favorite band in the past. Not bad at all, but it is not as smashing and catchy as other recordings on the album.

9. Doomrider

Zwischen Himmel und Hölle (“Between heaven and hell”) – Doomrider is about bikers. Another song looking back, being nostalgic – but this song works out quite well to me. A nice way to transport the biker feeling. Good song with a deep, a bit of dark chorus.

10. Alcatraz

Alcatraz is about the small, a bit of hidden and separated islands in the Baltic Sea. I guess that Northern German people connect better to this song. Neither the melody nor the lyrics work out with me very well.

11. Cafe Striezel

Cafe Striezel describes after-show rock parties in the past. Cool lyrics with a nice sing-a-long potential. The sound feels a less defensive. Erik Cohen is more powerful in other occasions.

 

Erik Cohen – Northern Soul – Track by Track

Here is Northern Soul on Spotify:

 

Erik Cohen – Northern Soul – Track by Track

The album starts very promising – and, indeed, Northern Soul has some really nice tracks. Unfortunately, another part of the songs does not connect to the level of quality to be used for the next German rock music party. Still a good album, which cannot make it to the very top rankings.

 

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