Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet
May You Always Live With Laughter

THE REVIEW

I came across this special German group by chance. While browsing various music sites, I found out that this group will soon embark on a tour. Partly intrigued by the name, partly following my instincts, I acquired this album which literally enchanted me. First of all, if I had to categorize this album and this group, the word "blues" would immediately come to mind. Because it is indeed about blues. But it's not the kind of blues you might expect, even though it retains its gritty sound. It is a noir, smoky music but also to be listened to while sipping a cocktail. You can feel a lot of America in these tracks but there's also a hint of Badalamenti, sweetly evoked and betrayed. The sound of this album is retro, hypnotic, captivating, which many have defined as "psycho-billy".

When you listen to this album, a gentle hand has the task of carrying you away, the double bass follows the heartbeat, strange memories, sensations, chills surface. They may not be a historic band, nor will they most likely make music history, but they are a band that knows how to play and, nowadays, it's really difficult to find acceptable sounds in clubs. But the highlight of this album, above the average of recent music releases, lies in the finale, overwhelming and whirling. It starts with "Why not" with those few notes played and repeated endlessly, almost like a ritual, malevolent, deadly. It continues with the vampiric "Allnighter" and then reaches the true masterpiece of the entire album, "Perfect world" with that aesthetically beautiful bass riff, with Jens Teichmann's warm and, at the same time, decadent voice and that hallucinatory guitar lost in the night that, in the end, turns the song into a 60s ballad.

It's still the beginning but, fortunately, it gives good hope. The LLLQ carry in their cultural-musical baggage names like Calexico, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and, of course, one cannot innovate something without knowing and destroying (in the good sense of the term) the past. Only in this way can something different be proposed, beyond its aesthetic beauty. I hope this group manages to make themselves known to more people, always offering interesting and well-constructed work.

I especially hope that the alternative scene can enjoy new vigor, breaking out of dullness and monotony by offering important innovations.