In 1978, Tom Liwa, who was still very young at the time, founded the band Sundown with his friend Mike K. Liwa later became a bit famous with the Flowerpornoes, but Sundown only released their self-described “mysterious” debut album CRAB APPLE, WILD CHERRY & SLOE in 2016. Now, almost a decade later, the two have completed a second work, which is being released as a cassette set together with download codes.
FÜNFINGER has something meditative and earthy about it
The artwork comes from Liwa’s daughter, his son provided some beats, and remixes are also included. The whole thing is supplemented by a 40-page textbook. There are 36 songs and a playing time of three hours. A challenge. FÜNFINGER is difficult to grasp musically. A lot of things seem improvised. Electronic and acoustic sound spaces are lined up next to each other, Liwa sings in them, sometimes seeming to lose herself in the process.
The English lyrics work well with the music and don’t push forward. FÜNFINGER has something meditative and earthy about it. The individual tracks flow into each other, connect and create images. You can hear the romance of the forest, the horror of nature, the sounds of animals and, yes, even madness. I ran through the pieces while writing a longer text and really got into the mood. Let’s see what I think of my discharge when I look at it again in a few days.
This review appears in Musikexpress 1/2026.