For more than one reason, 2008 has been a Gustav year. Not only that the title of her new album - “Verlass die Stadt“ (Leave the City) - can be seen as my personal motto for the year (and somehow the title track describes perfectly well how I felt about my long time city in the last months), it also is a brilliant record in every respect. More focused than her (already impressive) 2004 debut “Rettet die Wale“, she seems to have found her sound: basically electronic but also very song-oriented, including catchy, bittersweet tunes. And, last but not least, her intelligent, rebellious and thought-provoking lyrics (about society in general, resignation, longing for the next catastrophe, to name just a few), often combined with a dark ironic twist that is hard to describe. But unlike most German-speaking songwriters, who put so much emphasis on their lyrical content that the music seems like nothing more than a medium for the message, Gustav is obviously interested in both message AND music. Her way of combining different styles and sounds makes it impossible to name her influences just by listening to her records. Apart from releasing one of my favourite albums this year, her musical brilliance was even more impressive when listening to the songs live. I had the pleasure to see two Gustav concerts this year, first in May at the Leipzig Pop Up in a tiny overcrowded club, and then for a second time at the Skala (again in Leipzig), with basically the same setlist but a much better sound quality. The songs seemed even more powerful live than on the record, and the concert showed that she can even cover a Rage Against The Machine song (“Sleep Now in the Fire“) and make it sound totally like it was her own stuff. And she's one of the very few musicians who can make you think, laugh, cry and dance. Yes, even all at the same time.
A couple of songs (both old and new) can listened to here.
