A look at the album title ALLES WAR SCHÖN UND NOTHING TAT WEH, the string intro at the start, and for a moment you could think: Oh oh, Casper is becoming the Mark Forster of German rap on time for his fifth album. But then the usual jagged voice starts: “Today I thought again that I worry too much.” And you really can’t blame Forster for that, but, oh yes, Casper does: The Berliner by choice has a few thoughts , maybe even a few too many.
? EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT at Amazon.de
In a tour de force across seemingly every available mental depths, depression (not just the title track), bipolar disorder (in “TNT,” which has Tua singing the chorus), suicide (“Billie Jo”), and death are dealt with (“Fabian”), the climate catastrophe (“That Little Rain”) or a toxic relationship (“Lousy Life/ Clouds” with Haiyti).
The maestro of mentally ill rap
Maybe it’s not quite as hopeless as on the predecessor, LONG LIVE DER DEATH, but that’s mainly due to the musical realization. For the first time, Max Rieger (Dienerve, Alldiese Demokratie) produced, and he relies less on the heavy guitars and gothic harmonies than his predecessors, but instead turns the apocalyptic white trash short film “Zwiebel & Mett” into an almost summery almost -Hit, where you also like to sing along with the chorus line “And we’re going to hell, yes!”
The new catchiness, however, is in constant infight with Casper’s unwieldy delivery – and Casper doesn’t become Mark Forster, but himself, the most thoughtful, deep Casper ever, the maestro of mentally ill rap.
SIMILAR REVIEWS
Tara Nome Doyle :: Værmin
The Berliner wraps her odes to nasty creatures in dramatic, emotional chamber pop.
Haiyti :: Speed Date
Trap as a rap roleplaying game, but the melancholy comes best.
Neromun :: Pale
Auto-tuned R’n’B rap that asks the question of identity precisely because it offensively ignores it.
SIMILAR ARTICLES
Live from Berlin: Casper presents his new album ALLES WAR SCHÖN UND NOTHING TAT WEH on YouTube and on the radio
The evening before they appear, Casper wants to stream all of his new songs live – including “various guests and surprises”.
With “FABIAN” Casper releases an ode to friendship
The seven-minute film traces the leukemia disease of a close friend of the musician – and is nevertheless, or perhaps because of it, a hymn to life.
Musikexpress 03/2022 with Casper, Big Thief & MØ – the topics at a glance
Casper moves further away from rap than ever, MØ turns to negation, Mitski returns to the stage and alt-J take a step back forward – these and other topics in the now published Musikexpress 03/22.