flyctory.com

Madsen – Hollywood

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Madsen - Hollywood

Madsen - Hollywood
4.4

Rating

 4.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Really nice rock songs
  • Some real gems with strong strories
  • Characteristic Madsen sound

Madsen is indeed a German family rock band. Three of the six band members are brothers, the band name is also equivalent to their family name. Active since 2004, they are definitely an established act in the German rock and indie-rock scene. On 18th August 2023, Madsen released their ninth studio album overall. Here is my review of Hollywood.

 

Madsen – About The Artist

Madsen are a band from Clenze, a city in the Wendland in Southern Lower Saxony. The three brothers  are (sorted by descending age) Johannes (guitar, vocals), Sebastian (lead vocals, guitar) and Sascha (drums, vocals). The three non-family members are bassist Nico Maurer, guitarist Martin Mücke Knüssel and keyboard player Lisa Nickisch. The two latter ones are only on-stage members. Their 2005 debut album already has been in the German and Austrian charts for ten / nine weeks. After than, any Madsen album made it to the Top 10 of the German Album charts. The last one, Na gut dann nicht, peaked seventh after its release in 2020.

 

Madsen – Hollywood – Track by Track

The 11 song album lasts 41 minutes

1. Ein bisschen Lärm

The opener stays in your mind due to its strong contrasts. On the one hand there are the very struggling, disputing stanzas, which are almost in spoken word style. The chorus, however, is gentle, almost kitschy, fluent and harmonic. The message of the song is beautifully put into melodies.

Guten Tag, meine Damen und Herren
Sind Sie bereit für ein bisschen Lärm
Dann lad’ ich Sie ganz herzlich ein
Sich heute, hier und jetzt einfach mal frei zu schreien
(“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen
Are you ready for a bit of noise?
Then, I am glad to invite you
To simply shout yourself free here and now”)

 

2. Brücken

The next single release, Brücken (“Bridges”) is a typical Madsen track. Straight German rock with good melodies, but also a touch of indie sound. The voice of Sebastian Madsen is very present and striking. Very pleasant listen.

3. Das Beste von mir

Das Beste von mir (“The best of me”) is the first song yet unknown to Madsen fans. The theme presented at the beginning of the song feels a bit like folk rock and comes back later as one of the key catching melodic elements.  Nice love song rocker stating that “I give the best of me when you are with me”.

4. Willi

The fourth track is about friendship. The song is about a childhood friend, Willi. The school they went to together is turned down and some other things have changed as well – but the friendship stays. Very nice storytelling in this song.

5. Heirate mich

The title of the fifth song comes with a clear message – “Marry Me!”. The song is about a spontaneous idea at a perfect moment (“the first ones we meet will the witness of our marriage”) – and turns out to be one of the best songs of the album.

Heut ist ein perfekter Tag
Denk nicht nach, sag einfach ja
Und heirate mich, heirate mich
Du sagst, ich bin nicht mehr ganz dicht
Doch ich weiß genau, ich will nur dich
Komm heirate mich, heirate mich
(“Today is a perfect day
Don’t think, just say yes
And marry me, marry me
You say that I am bonkers
But I definitely know that I just want you
Come one, marry me, marry me”)

6. Hollywood

The title track is again about childhood memories. The song deals about a city boy, who is growing in a rather rough neighborhood. In his dreams, he is dreaming to be a superhero, like in Hollywood. “Build me a Hollywood in this grey neighborhood” is the first line of the chorus. Very good write.

7. Der Baum

Der Baum (“The tree”) opens with a cheeky keyboard melody. The song is a beautiful metaphor about planting a tree in the middle of not-that-green city and seeing it fighting to stay alive.

Und ich glaub’ die Welt ist noch nicht ganz verloren
Was ein Baum ertragen kann, das kann ich auch
(“And I think the world is not completely lost
If a tree can bear it, I can do so, too”)
is the key message of the chorus. Madsen sounds very pop-ish in this song, which is another really beautiful listen.
8. Der gleiche Weg nach Haus

After a couple of strong songs, Der gleiche Weg nach Haus, a song about friendship and having things in common, cannot leave a similarly strong mark. However, the indie-rocker especially comes with a beautiful melody in the chorus. A typical Madsen ditty, which just stays in your mind. In general, the song has a huge potential to sing-a-long with the German band.

9. Unter dem Radar

The first riffs already tell you: Unter dem Radar is coming with a rather strong rock heart. The plot of the song is interesting, as the dark and rocking mood of the track is broken by a rather quiet and fragile chorus. Nice listen.

10. Rock’n’Roll

“Play a bit of rock’n’roll with me”. The song is about music, fun, having a great night with good music together. The melody of the song has a very traditional and fluent style and thus definitely adds an appealing new touch to Hollywood.

11. Wir haben immer noch die Sonne

With 5:20 minutes, the closing song is by far the longest song of the album. The duration and the typical Madsen sound are likely the key characters of this one. The longer runtime gives some more space to present the instruments in here, which is a nice touch.

 

Madsen – Hollywood – Spotify

Here is Hollywood on Spotify:

 

Madsen – Hollywood – My View

Hollywood comes with some real gems. Unfortunately, this leads to the situation that some songs of the album feel a bit of average, even though they are in fact good as well. Madsen recorded a very nice album with some really strong lyrics. If you like German rock, this one is a nice candidate for an enjoyable listen.

Favorite Song: Der Baum

 

Madsen – 2023 Tour Dates

Madsen have a couple of BBQ Blitz tour dates in summer, which you could exclusively buy by pre-ordering the album. These shows are supported by Hannah Rautzenberg. After two dates in October in Austria (support: Montreal), Madsen tour Germany, supported by Deine Cousine:

Th 24.08.2023 Giessen (Germany) – Giessener Kultursommer
Tu 29.08.2023 Leipzig – Felsenkeller (BBQ Blitz Show)
Fr 30.08.2023 Berlin – About Blank (BBQ Blitz Show)
Fr 01.09.2023 Cologne – Freideck Kantine (BBQ Blitz Show)
Sa 02.09.2023 Hamburg – Molotow Backyard (BBQ Blitz Show)
We 04.10.2023 Vienna (Austria) – Arena Wien
Th 05.10.2023 Linz – Posthof
Fr 01.12.2023 Berlin – Comumbiahalle
Sa 02.12.2023 Cologne – Carlswerk Victoria
Fr 08.12.2023 Munich – Tonhalle
Sa 09.12.2023 Frankfurt – Batschkapp
Sa 16.12.2023 Dresden – Alter Schlachthof
Su 17.12.2023 Oberhausen -Turbinenhalle
Th 21.12.2023 Hamburg – Sporthalle (support: Fjort)

 

 

Music in Hamburg

Here are all Music & Media postings related to Hamburg:

 

Aviation Museums

Here are all postings about museums concentrating on aviation:

, , , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *