Few works that grapple with the heavy news dominating today’s world manage to make you feel anything other than downcast, but the new album from German trio, PABST, is here to shift the dial on that.
Recorded in Leipzig and released on Alcopop! Records/Ketchup Tracks, ‘This Is Normal Now’ adopts an incisive, observational voice the band hasn’t explored before, narrating the rise of far-right ideologies and populism. “What the years since our last album have shown is that everything once considered unthinkable can quickly become the new normal, both for better and for worse,” says bassist Tilman Kettner.
Opening their new album comes ‘Limbo No.5’, a track that brings with it a strong pop-punk sound that goes on to characterise the garage band’s mature sound. That isn’t where the fluidity of genres ends, though, with the band noting influences such as Charli XCX and Sophie in their writing process. Yet this avant-garde, politically charged sound isn’t entirely new for them. Innately experimental since the release of their debut, ‘Chlorine’ in 2018, infectious, garage, anti-establishment anthems have characterised their sound ever since.
Peppered throughout the new record are also some standout collaborations. From DZ Deathrays’ frontman Shane Parson heading up vocals on the lead single, ‘I Felt All There is to Feel’, to Leipzig indie-rock musician, Katja Seiffert (also known as Blush Always) supporting on the bittersweet and nostalgia-ridden ‘Twenty Three’, the record feels like a true collaborative effort – a quality not evident in the band’s earlier releases.
Drawing further on the leftist, anti-capitalist arc that defines the album’s fabric, ‘Orca Whale’ delivers reverb-drenched chords and dense drum fills that offer a peek into the depths of the band’s nihilistic thoughts, standing out as one of the most archetypal (and digestible) cuts on the album. Transitioning from nihilism into a kind of fatalism comes ‘Destroy Everything’ – a shorter, punchier anthem that repeatedly reminds us “There’s nothing left to do”. Dreary, yes, but inherently freeing – and only enhanced by its infectious lyricism.
“You could conclude that what once was a dystopian concept is simply the state of things today,” says vocalist and guitarist Erik Heise. “There have been a lot of these moments recently where I thought ‘whatever dark shit people have dreamed up in the past about how bad things can get, a lot of it is happening now.’”
Other highlights include ‘Heavy Metal Junk Island’ with its deeply-rooted Americana sound, the full-throttle ‘Song on the Radio’, and the record’s lead single ‘Big Big Heart’. Arrogant, punchy, and driven by the album’s catchiest riff, it stands out as the track most likely to lift the band’s visibility within the diverse musical scenes they operate within.
Closing with a subdued title-track outro, PABST’s latest release ends on a contrastingly low note – perhaps a fitting moment of reflective clarity after a continuous stream of tracks that keep drawing our attention back to the troubled world outside.
Pop-fuelled, eccentric in parts, and deeply inspired by the chaos that surrounds us all, ‘This Is Normal Now’ delivers a sharp, modern refresh of a genre that too often veers towards the predictable. As we all continue to chew the fat on how to get out of the mess we find ourselves in, the record provides a welcome reprieve, yet it’s their next release that will need to deliver the bolder, more reckless punch this one only hints at.