Immer mehr geht doch.

Hidden by the Grapes - "Opus"
Label: Kruse Kontrol Digital

"The Awful German Language". Yep, German is awful indeed. There's a reason why we -as German speakers- tend to watch movies or TV series in English and listen to music out of the States most of the time. German is a pretty harsh and un-emotional language, more suitable to bureaucracy than to music. In the history of music there aren't that many bands who managed to sound touching and genuine, while using the German language. Heck, we definitely loathe more German or Austrian artists who are singing in German than we love. Therefor we aren't really proud of our "folk" music and damn, most of the time it's downright unendurable. 

No wonder why HIDDEN BY THE GRAPES first felt uncomfortable with German lyrics. It's a theme on the record, as they basically switch from English to German during the opener and run with their native language in large parts of the record. "Opus" is the fifth full length by the three-piece out of Graz in Austria. Curiously enough I reviewed their second album back in 2012 as well as their Split with LAMBDA from 2010. Then I lost track off them, though they also took it a bit slower, as "Opus" is their first outpout in 6 years. 

Even if it's been 10+ years since I've been listeningt to anything by them, HIDDEN BY THE GRAPES roughly sound like I remembered them. Somewhere in the middle of Post-, Indie- and Noise-Rock, they sure have matured over the years as musicians and as songwriters. They go on a journey in these 40 minutes and take their listeners with them. "The Awful German Language" is miles away of being awful, indeed it's one of the best openers I've heard in a long time. It's straight and to-the-point, the distorted riff rocks like hell, the chorus is haunting and the clash of English, German and Austrian dialect is quite unique. "Hey Boris!" tricks you with its moody intro, as the song turns into a danceable smasher one-and-a-half minutes in. They switch back to the mellow stuff in the bridge and come back once again with that sick chorus. "Immer wieder Boris!" - dang, Boris hasn't left my ears for a few days now. 

What a get go, yet HIDDEN BY THE GRAPES turn "Opus" upside down, right after the furious beginning. "Kranke Gehirne" dwelves into melodic Indie-Rock, and with the following "Und das ist das Schlimme" and "An denen" the three-piece rings in the big Post-Rock-period of the record. While they do a solid job, especially with the fully instrumental "An denen", these 10 minutes feel nowhere near as fresh as the opening two-string. Just as all the Post-Rock-shtick seems to get a bit out of hand, they have the right answer in the form of "Herz geht auf". Their first single, released in advance of the album, rightfully topped the Austrian Indie-Charts, as it's one heck of an earworm. The song is definitely the most "out there" track on "Opus", as it's pretty light and kinda funny too. It was sheer impossible to find the right place for "Herz geht auf", though I think it's a good choice placing it between the instrumental "An denen" and the start of the emotional, moody, German-singing chapter of "Opus". 

Here's where HIDDEN BY THE GRAPES come into their own with their new found love (?) for the awful German language. They wrote some cool, touching words in the last bunch of songs and find a nice middle ground between crushing, catchy and moody. Especially "Immer mehr" is quite the banger. Lyrically it deals with our disgusting abundance, while creating a feeling somewhere between disheartening and melancholic. It's beautiful. 

Apparently HIDDEN BY THE GRAPES were afraid of being thrown into the same pigeonhole that is covered by all those trendy, German-singing acts out of Austria. Brilliantly enough, with cuts like "Herz geht auf", "Weil ich schon an mir selbst zweifle" or "Eure fehlende Liebe tötet mich", they show massive potential to get some airplay at the big Austrian radio station, which plays the same 20 songs over and over again... yet, the trio's own quirky-ness and love for noisy sounds will always get in the way, no matter what. So, don't worry guys and run with it. In your mouths the German language isn't as awful as it mostly is...

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