There was always something exuberant and cocky about Naked Lunch. This is no different on the Austrians’ first album since 2013. Oliver Welter, the only remaining founding member, had to deal with cancer before LIGHTS and also became a father again. And so he opens his arms wide, with a John Lennon melody in his head and a glass in his hand: “To All And Everyone I Love”. An all-round blow of love with a big indie rock gesture.
Editorial recommendations
There is no lack of pathos and exuberance. Welter throws himself into Flaming Lips-like glitter-blasting hymns between global embrace and madness. “If This Is the Last Song You Can Hear” is sawed apart by a freely rotating saxophone, “Go Away” is shaken by cosmic noise eruptions. “I Saw” takes off with a trumpet, only to be pushed through space by Bratz guitar, free jazz drums, space electronics and brass.
In between: Nick Cave-esque ballads and melancholy, radiation-filled song miniatures. At the end, “Going Underground” offers a finale reaching for the sky, complete with piano and fanfares. Love and death, light and darkness. Nice and thick and sometimes quite over the top. But always really beautiful.
This review first appeared in Musikexpress 12/2025.