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Selig – Myriaden

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Selig - Myriaden

Selig - Myriaden
3.8

Rating

 3.8/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very versatile songs
  • Great lyrics and their presentation by Jan Plewka

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some songs are just too pop-ish

Selig is one of the most famous German rock bands. They started publlishing music in 1993. On 12th March 2021, the band will release their latest album, Myriaden. Here are my thoughts about the long-player.

 

Selig – About The Artists

Selig is a German rock band from Hamburg. The band has been founded in 1993. After a break-up in 1999, the band members re-united in 2008. The line-up is almost the same as in 1993. Singer Jan Plewka, guitarist Christian Neander, bassist Lenard “Leo” Schmidthals and drummer Stephan “Stoppel” Engel perform together since the very beginnings of the band. Only keyboarder Malte Neumann left the band in 2014. The band debuted with a self-titled album in 1994, which already went Top 40 in Germany and Austria. One year later, the following album hier: (“here”) even made it to the Top 20 in both countries. Apart from the band’s very own album Blender, they also recorded the soundtrack to the German movie Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door in 1997. The title track, a cover of Bob Dylan’s classic, went roughly to the 30th spot in the singles chart in Germany and Switzerland and is thus Selig’s most successful single track so far.

The best-selling album, however, was the comeback album after the hiatus. Und endlich unendlich (“And finally indefinitely”) was in the German album charts for 24 weeks, peaked fifth and received a golden record for more than 100,000 units sold. The following two albums, Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit (“From Eternity to Eternity”, 2010) and Magma (2013) both made it into the German Top 10. Myriaden is the first studio album since the 2017 Kashmir Karma and thus the seventh Selig album overall.

 

Selig – Myriaden – Track by Track

The twelve track album lasts 44 minutes.

1. Süßer Vogel

The beginning of Süßer Vogel (“Sweet Bird”) initially felt a bit disturbing to me. The song is very pop-ish and even reminded me of song plots by Andreas Dorau. The chorus, however, kills any doubt – this is indeed a Selig song – and it even sounds a bit like the 1990’s songs of the band.

2. Alles ist so

Alles ist so ordinär
Ich will nicht
dass die Welt so untergeht
Irreguliert, Realität.

(“Everything is so ordinary
I don’t want
that the world goes down
irregulated, reality”)

There are even some hip-hop alike elements in this song. Selig is still doing rock songs (and they still know how give some nice chords on the guitar), but there is a clear touch of pop in these songs. This may be confusing for fans, who follow the band since their beginnings.

3. Myriaden

With the title track of the album, we are back in the traditional sound of Selig. Nice mid-tempo softer rock with good lyrics. And of course, with the powerful and catching voice of Jan Plewka. Nice.

4. Spacetaxi

Hey, hallo Spacetaxi-Mann, schalt die Triebwerke an
Bring mich so schnell du kannst zu ihr
Die Verbindung riss ab zu diesem seltsamen Kontakt
Und ich bin kurz davor, ihre Frequenz zu verlier’n
Hey, hallo Spacetaxi-Mann, ich hab’ gehört, du kannst
Auch auf entfernteste Distanz Wellenlängen reparier’n
Ich zahl’ so gut, ich kann für ihre Umlaufbahn
Es könnte Lichtjahre dauern, doch ich will sofort zu ihr

(“Hey, hello, Spacetaxi-Man, turn on the engines
Bring me to as quick as you can
The connection to this strange contact died
And I am just about to lose her frequency.
Hey, hello, Spacetaxi-Mann, I heart that you can
repair wavelengths from the farest distances.
I pay as well, I want to her orbit
It may take lightyears, but I want to be with her immediately”)

Already the lyrics of this one tell you: this song is very different. A lot of disco and pop and a touch of funk – this song may be fun and a good dance – but it just does not feel too much like the Hamburg band. I rather feel the band should have skipped that recording – you may also see it as a very special and very welcome bonus.

5. SMS K.O.

SMS K.O. is melancholic and very kitschy. The almost crying voice of Plewka even boosts the heartbreak feeling. The song reminds of Ohne Dich, which has been one of the most popular ones of the Hamburg band.

 

6. Angesicht zu Angesicht

I don’t feel that Angesicht zu Angesicht (“Face to Face”) is one of the strongest songs on the melodic side, but again, the strong lyrics and the amazing voice of Plewka boost the song and make it finally feel better than it in fact is.

7. Selig

Selig is outstanding on this album in many ways. First of all, the song is the longest on the album. Secondly, it is the only song, which is a powerful rock song from A to Z. Glad to know that the guys are still able to do that kind of music as well.

8. Paradies im Traumrausch

Paradies im Traumrausch (“Paradise in Dream Ecstasy”) is very electronic, very pop-ish. To me, it is rather disturbing. While the Spacetaxi still had that touch of fun song, I don’t get into this song too much.

9. Postkarte

The musical Postkarte (“Postcard”) is a lovely song and the emotional highlight of the album. Plewka wrote it for his father, who passed away. Just some violin sounds, acoustic guitars and the story of the song – goose pimples almost guaranteed.

10. So lang gewartet

So lang gewartet (“Waited that long”) is a beautiful love song, which comes which beautiful rhythmic guitar licks, which beautifully harmonizes with the vocals. Again, there is a schmaltzy touch, but the song keeps sufficient distance to German schlager.

11. Zeitlupenzeit

Zeitlupenzeit (“Slow Motion Time”) is very rhythmic and groovy. I feel it one of the most powerful songs of the album, even though quite some other songs come with more impressive lyrics.

12. Du

With Du, the Myriaden take the last stage of the 12 part musical trip through the 2021 world of Selig. A nice farewell tunes, just perfect to sway from left to right and maybe slowly wave, Hamburg-facing.

 

Selig – Myriaden – Spotify

Here are the Myriaden on Spotify:

 

Selig – Myriaden – Hamburg

Selig in 2021 is full of surprises. They are still for of talent and offer a wide variety of songs. And then there are their great lyrics which are that fantastically presented by Jan Plewka. There are some ups and downs on the album – but overall, these guys just cannot be too bad. Myriaden proofs it again. The album is not a 30 year old whiskey, but still a very enjoyable craft beer.

 

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