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Schelmish: Die Hässlichen Kinder Hard Rock, Punk Napalm Records October 30th, 2009
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Review
Schelmish is a German Punk and Hard Rock act that dabbles once in a while in Metal as well. The thing is that this release, Die Hässlichen Kinder, marks their ninth studio album in their career, so it's obvious there hasn't been much of a market Stateside since nobody on the internet really seems to know who the heck these guys are, myself included. Kind of an oddball release for Napalm Records, there are plenty of moments that will confuse listeners new to their style, but apparently nothing on this album is new to people who have been fans since the band's birth. This release is pretty hard to sit down and just pinpoint anything with, really. The Hard Rock moments of the album sound as if the band is trying to sound like an Industrial act along the lines of more mainstream bands like Rammstein, but without the real industrial element, and by adding bagpipes. These tracks are often pretty good, even if they are a bit too light. "Bist Du Bereit" is a great, slower paced one of these that just gives off a bit of an ominous feel to the music, and "Überladen" is just catchy with the hard hitting guitars and accompanying keyboards and bagpipes, especially when those two go into a bit of a solo together. But, in between these is the first real Punk song of the album, which starts off with nothing other then the sound of flatulence. Yes, you read that right, before the music of the song really kicks in and clashes against the two aforementioned tracks, you hear someone pass gas, and it's rather high pitched too. At least this is the only time such a drastic change in music appears. Another odd factor about this release is the band's usage of writing songs in German, as well as in English. This does wind up working out for those in the States and other regions of the world who don't speak German, and really helps some of the songs here stick in your head, such as the very catchy "Too Late". While the first three tracks, aside "Boulevard", are actually good, it probably won't be until that song where the album actually starts to hit you the first time through. The rest of the album sounds remotely the same, not similar but nothing really jaw dropping or spectacular, with "Too Late" and "Blahsucht" being the best off the whole thing really. That's not to say that this is total garbage, as the concept of medieval instruments mingling with modern day Punk is definitely something interesting, it's just that the music on here seems a little too open, mainstream, and often a little simple. Die Hässlichen Kinder is actually not that bad an album, but some of the material on here just seems as though it still had room to grow, as if it were rushed during the recording stages just to make this a full length album. Given the sound, it's something a little shocking to find on this label, and may wind up throwing some people for a loop if they don't get the hint from the rather comical cover art, but overall, and looking past the gastral intestinal fortitude presented on "Boulevard", this is still an interesting listen. The bad side is that, due to the lack of any real complexity, after a few listens you'll wind up with those few songs that stick in your head, and the rest will just be history.
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