The ex-Sizarr singer knows how to use silence in dark pop.
Silence is an underestimated element in pop. The moment when the instruments fall silent to make the all-embracing chorus that follows even more grandiose; the intimate silence in which you can hear the singers breathing softly into the microphone. Fabian Altstötter knows exactly how to use this silence.
On his second album as Jungstötter, the ex-Sizarr singer makes a big sound leap forward. The dense production on ONE STAR combines sometimes sumptuous, sometimes creaking strings, intricate percussion and melancholy brass with Altstötter’s highly dramatic, always somewhat shaky vocals.
Variety is missing for the really big hit
And leaves a lot of room for silence: With “Sensation”, for example, a quiet e-piano ballad that seems to stop after about a minute. The chorus that follows comes out of nowhere with trumpet interjections, a stuttering beat and disorienting, shimmering synths. As impressive as the production and many small sound details are – there is a lack of variety for the really big hit.
Everything Altstötter has collected is very dark, almost creepy. Rare moments of brittle beauty, like a heavenly choir, for example, take the title track to another level – and even strengthen the oppressive mood through the contrast.
Author: Elias Pietsch