By Chyrisse Tabone, Tampa Correspondent and Joy Dana, Germany Correspondent
REVIEW: Electric Lives by Go Go Berlin
What I love about working at Rock At Night is discovering great music across the globe, which I would not ordinarily come across. One of our German photographers Joy Dana recommended that I listen to a band called Go Go Berlin, which hail from the city of Aarhus, Denmark. Their new album Electric Lives was released on August 21st and I was in love at first listen. Honestly, the album contains a solid 54 minutes of great music (12 songs) without a dud in the bunch. After downloading the music I burned a CD and it has become my regular go-to CD while driving up and down I-75 (west coast of Florida-USA).
Although the band’s description is “beat rock” there is a mix of styles which range between ’80s rock to mod ‘60s to modern alt-rock to funky instrumental mood music. Overall, Go Go Berlin’s Electric Lives is upbeat, catchy, and danceable with sing-along lyrics. Christian Vium’s vocals are melodic and smooth but with a touch of huskiness and grittiness which fit perfectly with rock or even blues. The songs are accompanied by killer keyboard synth riffs which sound almost like violin accompaniment at times and traditional keyboard tones at others. Also, there is plenty of trippy lead guitar riffs with reverb which add to the psychedelic groove. A couple of songs even have a Bon Jovi/rock sound which makes me long for the ‘80s all over again.
Here is a mini-description of each song :
006—This instrumental song would be a great soundtrack for a spy movie with its use of reverb guitar, keyboard synth, and ‘60s vibe. This “spy” theme seems to follow in the other tracks as well.
Maybe Tomorrow—A great danceable beat and catchy lyrics, sing-along chorus, a keyboard riff and definite ‘80s rock sound.
Kids—I really like this song! It uses lead guitar riffs, keyboard accompaniment, and drums to create a funky, upbeat feel. There is a great chorus which repeats…Revolution calling my name…we are only kids. Any song that speaks about ‘revolution’, well, I’m there!
Famous Till the End—The song appears to be in a minor key with a keyboard riff and almost a “Second Wave” or ‘60s sound. Great stuff!
Kill Me First—This song has a mod 60s sound and guitar riffs that takes me back to the go-go dance era.
Rest for the Restless—This is one of the two ballads in the album mix. It has a Bon Jovi-ish sound and one can picture slow-dancing close with a special guy to this one. There is a really nice keyboard riff and overall the song is very pretty.
Electric Lives—Again, this song has an ‘80s feel and kind of a Bon Jovi-ish sound.
Starlight/WDYW—This song is actually comprised of two songs that segue into a 10-minute epic. It has been a long time since I have heard a band do this (e.g., The Beatles, Elton John). Starlight sounds like a mod ‘60s song that Small Faces could have performed in the day. It then segues to WDYW (“What Do You Want”) which consists of a trippy instrumental with a psychedelic feel. Sweet!
The Party—The song is very reminiscent of the ’80s with a feel-good, sing-along chorus.
Purple Heart—There is an ‘80s synth sound and synth sound but the song comes across with a modern/alt rock feel.
All Mine—Again, this song has a modern rock/alt rock feel which fits well in the Millennium.
You Are the Sun—This is the second ballad on the album has almost a country-ish lead guitar riff and an ‘80s ballad sound.
As an extra note:
Rock At Night was lucky enough to see Go Go Berlin perform live at the Karlsruhe on Saturday night. According to Joy Dana who attended the evening, the venue felt intimate and Go Go Berlin performed as if they were in a stadium with 1,000s of people. She said, “It was a great, energetic vibe and everybody was visibly enjoying themselves.”
I really wish I could have been there since “Electric Lives” has become one of my new favorite CDs. All I can say is “Come to the USA!”
Go Go Berlin: Christian Vium – lead vocals, guitar; Mikkel Dyrehave – guitar; Anders Søndergaard – organ; Emil Rothmann – bass; Christoffer Østergaard – drums
PHOTO GALLERY
“Electric Lives”
From their last album New Gold (2013)–“Darkness”
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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