A new Andreas Dorau album is always a reason to be happy. The cheerful melancholy in the lyrics, the lively groove in the beats – and the whole endearingly engaging persona. But this time the enthusiasm is limited, “Im Gebüsch” sounds uninspired and listless for long stretches. Is it because of the fear of the upcoming 60th birthday? Dorau has been crowing for the scene audience for 44 years now and still regularly surprises with ideas that make each new album even more lively than its predecessor. But the songs and the production of “Im Gebüsch” unfortunately do not have the soaring heights of “The Love and the Anger of Others” nor the snappy humor of “King of the Seagulls”, the musical written with Gereon Klug.
There he is again, the old rascal!
“The constant. She stays, she’s not interested in space and time,” sings Dorau in “Die Konstante”, an indie pop song carried by pale Balearic beats, before complaining: “If only she were a little like us!” Whatever is he telling us? That he lives entirely in “being me,” as the next song suggests? “Being me is something I’m good at. I don’t have the courage to be you.” Many texts are sketches built around one or two sentences: “On the willow avenue, with a cup of coffee. Add a piece of cake and your worries will disappear in no time.” Sure, Andreas Dorau is a pop star of small issues. But unfortunately there is a wide gap between “Animal in the Rain” and “Stork Song”.
Zwanie Jonson, who produced almost all of the pieces, did not perform well this time. In the second half the album picks up speed with “My English Winter” and “What are you taking with you”, a song about the not entirely unimportant question: What to do if a fire breaks out in your own house? Dorau’s preferences are clear: “Hamster Rudi mustn’t die, he’s supposed to inherit everything later. The signed photo of Loki Schmidt – that has to be included!” There he is again, the old rascal!