Suzan Köcher's Suprafon - In These Dying Times

4.6

Rating

4.6/5

Flyctory.com Pros

Very versatile and unique rock music
Very good songwriting

Flyctory.com Cons

Some songs are very extensive

The German band Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon was in the news recently for a very tragic reason. While the band was just about to finish their set at the Fronhof in Solingen on 23rd August 2024, the Islamist knife assault took place in the city. Three people were killed by this terrorist attack. With In These Dying Tmes, the band wants to be back in the news – in a much more positive context. Their third album has been released on 11th October 2024.

Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon – About The Artists

Suzan Köcher is the band lead of the band from Solingen in the German Rheinland region. She is the lead singer and plays the guitar. Julian Müller is the other guitarist, Alfie Joy is the bassist and Jens Vetter cares about the drums and synthesizer. They released their debut album Moon Boedeaux in 2017. Especially their sophomore release Suprafon (2019) lead to very good critics. The sound of the band is between psychedelic rock and folk music.

Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon – In These Dying Times – Track by Track

The nine track album lasts 43 minutes.

1. In These Dying Times

I always like when the opener of an album already gives you a good feeling. The Germans and their In These Dying Times do very good in that regard. The title track starts very harmonic, but then also develops the psychedelic touch. The latter especially applies to the keyboard driven bridge. The frontlady does a great job on the microphone. Do you think you can tell the truth from the lies? In these dying times – the lyrics have the necessary depth as well.

2. Maybe I’m A Lemon

Kinda bitter, kinda sweet – the second song is full of struggle and despair. Thereby, Suzan Köcher & Suprafon put the emotions of the song nicely into sound. The more harmonic sections increase the folk music character of the song, while the guitar-driven ones also have a threatening touch. This mixture leads to a beautiful, unique sound.

3. Sleepless Strangers

Late in the night
I was sleepless and quiet
As the demons inside came to haunt me

The following tracks have already been released as singles. First of all, there is Sleepless Strangers. The song reflects the emotions of spending the night together, but not feeling really comfortable with the situation. The gentle, warm voice of Suzan Köcher works on this song very well, again.

4. Seventeen

The song is about the typical teenage emotions, falling in love easy. I caught a glimpse of you today, you were standing at the station. A good one, which is beautiful in storytelling. And there is some inner fight in this fourth track of In These Dying Times again.

When I was seventeen
Life felt so uneasy
You never tried to please me
But I loved you like crazy
When I was seventeen
People called me lazy
But I was torn apart completely
Just tried to let go and be free
I never got you off my mind

5. The Trip

The Trip is the first longer song on the album. It lasts over five minutes. The band invests this time wisely and wrote a very atmospheric, intense listen. The atmosphere is rather depressing in some parts of track. There are a few break-outs, but overall, the song feels rather fluent and harmonic. It also works really well from an instrumental perspective.

6. Living In A Bad Place (Album Version)

The single edit of this song has been the last feature single of the album. However, the version released is roughly just half as long as this one – 3:04 minutes compared to 6:19 on the album. The song overall has a rather dark mood, Especially in the middle and at towards the end in, which the band is also experimenting with synth sounds. This adds the a very virtuous touch, even the instrumental part is rather lengthy to me.

7. Camera

After this epic listen, it is good dealing with the shorter Camera. hte total listening time is about three and a half minutes long. Again, the band is altering between storytelling parts lead by Suzan Körner and atmospheric instrumental parts. This leads to a nice harmony.

8. Falling For Autumn

Falling For Autumn is roughly as long as the predecessor. The song is a bit quicker than the average of In These Dying Times. The present drums turn it into an very enjoyable and diverting listen.

9. Desert Air Motel

After a long drive we spend the night at the Desert Air Motel
This is the only roof for miles around, everybody knows it well

With a total duration of over nine minutes, the chucker-out is definitely massive. Just suitable for a trip to the Desert Air Motel, there are also slight country music vibes in this song. The song reflects a long – and somehow lonely – road trip to Terlingua in a Chevrolet. Later in the song, Szan Köcher’s Suprafone id even making use of brass sounds, If you don’t like extensive instrumental sections with a slowly developing plot, this song might be skipped after a certain while.

Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon – In These Dying Times – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon – In These Dying Times – My View

Suan Köcher’s Suprafon defined their very own sound. This definitely leads to a “love it or hate it”. situation. I like the nice structure of the songs and how they are bullt up. Especially the epic songs are based on fascinating songwriting. Nonetheless, the album is missing a certain catch here and there.

Favorite Song: In These Dying Times