11. March 2025
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Media Review

Zartbitter – Hier und Jetzt

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Zartbitter - Hier und Jetzt

Zartbitter - Hier und Jetzt
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very nice Stores
  • Amazing breakfast, charming persin

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Undeniable similarities

I had quite a lot of rock music recently on Flyctory.com. Especially German artists made it quite frequently into my review. The day after I featured the opening night of my favorite musical Rock of Ages twice, I felt that the new songs by the German band Zartbitter are just right  On 7th April 2023, the rock band is about to release a new album, Hier und jetzt (“Here and now”). I had the opportunity to listen to it beforehand.

 

Zartbitter – About The Artists

Hier und Jetzt is the sophomore album of Zartbitter. The band from Döbeln in Saxony, Germany, already released Ich hab Zeit in 2020. The band members are leader Robin Blümel, Matthias Thieme, Andre Meyer, Thomas Kerber and Roland Bauer. The knew each other from other band project, but happened to get together in 2018 and decided to join forces.

 

Zartbitter – Hier und Jetzt – Track by Track

The twelve song album lasts 44 minutes.

1. Barfuß am Strand

The title of the opener translates to “Barefoot at the Beach”. The song is a straight German rock song which comes with the dirty and straight feeling of a punk song, but also makes you smile with its nice touch. Very promising first one.

2. 1000 KM

The band is playing solid, straight rock. Good drumming, slightly heavy guitars and a nice bass sound. And there is quite intense word on the cymbals and toms. But finally, the special touch of Zartbitter songs is added by the voice of Robin Blümel. The slightly raspy sound feels so rock’n’roll. I like it.

3. Mensch

In einem Land vor unserer Zeit,
Da war alles anders
Keine Sorgen weit und breit
Und einer für den anderen.
Wir sind uns selbst der größte Feind
Ganz egal, um was es geht
Weil jeder von uns denkt
Dass sich die Welt um uns dreht

(“In a Land before our time
Everything has been different
No worries far and wide,
And one for the other.
We are our biggest enemy
No matter, what the deal is
As everybody thinks
That the world is turning around us.”)

This song is less than three minutes long – but the rocker praising the good, old – better – times definitely leaves a deep mark in the thoughts of the listener. Very nicely written rocker.

4. So wie ich bin

Lass mich so wie ich bin, denn ich bin frei wie der Wind – “Don’t try to change me as I am free as a bird” (not the exact translation). Freedom and deciding about your own life is definitely a key topic of this self-confident album . The fourth song is a nice part of that.

5. Narben

The song is about “Scars”, regarding the title. The song feels a bit more aggressive than the tracks before, but it is also slowing down nicely after the chorus. Nice.

6. Spiegelbild

Looking into the mirror and exploring the first signs about getting older. Looking back at the good times at young age. That’s about the topic of this song. That sounds a bit too melancholic, but the chorus is closing with Nein, ganz so schlimm ist das doch nicht – “No, it is definitely not that bad”. This leads to an optimisitc and even a bit of ironic touch.

7. Der letzte Vorhang (feat. Isabell)

Not a ballad, but Zartbitter slowing down the speed of the album significantly for this song. The additional vocalists leads to a nice, dialog-alike sound of the song.

8. Schutt und Asche

Kein Krieg mehr auf der Welt – das ist alles was ich will. “No more war on Earth, that’s all what I want” is the core sentence of this track. The song is taking the position of a traumatized refugee in one of the veses. Really nice and impressive listen.

9. Mentale Katastrophe (feat. Speche)

The next two songs, Mentale Katastrophe (“Mental Catastrophe”) and Meine Maske (“My Mask”) have already been released as singles album. This album surprises the listener, as the Döbeln boys even add some hip hop elements to their modern rock song. It works out nicely.

10. Meine Maske

The tenth song is about being straight, about giving clear messages. It is about that you don’t need to tell lies. Nice track, even though this one does not add too many new sounds and aspects to Hier und Jetzt.

11. Die Schöne und das Biest

The song is about finger-pointing and bullying. A small town is asking why a beautiful lady is going for a below-average looking guy, right like in Beauty and the Beast (which is the translation of the album title).Great work on the drum is driving this great song.

12. Wieder eins

The song has a melancholic touch. It is about a breakup, which is still unforgotten. And it is about the wounds on the one hand, but also the desperation to have a chance to be together again. Nice closing song.

 

Zartbitter – Hier und Jetzt – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Zartbitter – Hier und Jetzt – My View

I really like what Zartbitter is doing here. Hier und Jetzt is a nice, straight rock album with good stories and a very catching singer. The band could leave their comfort zone more frequently to give us a wider range of their talents. But that’s it, I like it.

 

Music – German Artists 2023

Here are all my Music & Media postings published in 2023 related to German artists:

 

2023 Postings with Gallery

Here are all my postings with a major size picture gallery published in 2023:

 

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