Ms. John Soda - No P. or D.
(Morr)
German electronic music has gone through a lot of cycles of action and reaction in the past four or five years. As a reaction to heady instrumental techno-influenced post rock like Mouse on Mars, bands like To Rococo Rot keep things smart but move towards more pop-oriented sounds. As a reaction to the void of singers in the uber-serious scene, the singer becomes the most fetished part of the music, leading to trampy music both in vocal and sound, like Gonzalez and Peaches. As a reaction to this super-sexual style of feminism, groups revert to purer melodies and more low key sounds, and Lali Puna presents a strong female singer that doesn't "come on strong."
Ms. John Soda is not another reaction, but rather almost a perfect carbon copy of Lali Puna. The duo consists of Stephanie Böhm of Couch and Micha Acher of Notwist, and by pedigree alone clearly Ms. John Soda is worth looking into. However, many of those ways in which Lali Puna is different, Lali Puna is clearly superior. Böhm sings lead, and her quiet, airy, accented delivery is enjoyably soft but lacks anything special to make it memorable. Also, whereas Valerie Trebaljahr of Lali Puna writes meaningful, political, personal lyrics, Ms. John Soda's words seem to just be there for mood instead of meaning. Musically there is less of a difference; Lali Puna writes simple songs (one could argue deceptively simple), and for the most part Ms. John Soda does the same, hiding simple melodies behind the electronic textures. In a couple songs, though, Soda exceed Lali Puna with well structured grooves.
Songs like "Misco" and "Unsleeping" sound more like Couch songs than anything Lali Puna would write. "Misco" interrupts a mine field of cherry bombs for a bright and sunny groove of guitar and keyboard. Then, the groove and cherry bombs are mixed together, the static adding a syncopated rhythm to the straight, on-beat groove of the guitar. "Unsleeping" is a great kraut rock song—not much need to say anything else—using the kind of great guitar riff you expect from a Couch song. Böhm's singing is less of a focus; the listener is drawn into the riff, which is kept on track by life-like drumming and keyboard accoutrement.
No P. or D. is an enjoyable record, but even in a world without Lali Puna, it wouldn't be a great one. It fails to pack the consistent guitar punch to make a great kraut record, and it fails to pack the lyrical, vocal, or melodic punch to make a great pop record. Creating a hybrid of those two styles alone doesn't make an album worthwhile.
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