LaBrassBanda
Ubersee
Indigo CD 804002 / Trikont CD US-0400
*****
Full Price (55 mins)
And so the Suddeeutsche funkateers are back with a bang. For those listeners who were lucky enough to stumble across last year’s Habedieehre, it was the shock of the season: a Bavarian five-piece, just three horns, vocals, electric bass and drums, performing their own songs in the local dialect. But what singer Stefan Dettl does with this combination is beyond any expectation: there’s a straight-up pop sensibility as sharp as MGMT or any of the latest alt-electro-pop hyphenates, and with Ubersee, LaBrassBanda might just have delivered the surprise underground hit of the year. Three things leap out: killer US RnB style grooves and licks, top musicianship and a totally cliché-free approach. It kicks so hard that it really doesn’t matter if you understand the words or not. Opening track Bierzelt sounds like Beyonce opening Oktoberfest; Des Konnst Glam is a swinging blowout with all the funk of 70s legends Brass Construction; Ringlbleame does the same with the added bonus of a hook-laden pop chorus; on Nanana, they show they can also play it as sweet and spiritual as a New Orleans shout band. It’s fresh, confident and totally unlike anything else out there. Get onto this before everyone else does.