Dark Psychedelic Rock Trio Voodoo Beach Announces New Album "Wonderful Life"

Born from the wish to merge their wildly varying tastes in music, the members of VOODOO BEACH have a long history of playing an eclectic brand of dark psychedelic rock. Inspired by Sonic Youth, The Horrors and Slowdive, the Berliner underground act have been turning contradiction to creativity for almost 10 years, releasing a series of impressively balanced EPs before their lead singer and guitar player decided to quit. On the brink of dissolution the band were saved by Heike Rädeker, founding member of German cult noise rockers 18th Dye, who was a fan of the band and who instantly decided to join them on hearing of their upcoming demise.

Returning from the edge of the abyss, VOODOO BEACH brim with an unmistakable lust for life on the nine tracks that comprise their debut full-length. The moody bombastic album opener «Fremde Fenster» is overflowing with droning oriental guitar leads and fuzzy bass tones which slowly entrance you as the voice of Heike provides familiar touches of the Neue Deutsche Welle sound of the 80s. In the context of this band, Heike really shines like never before and the combination of her off-the-cuff guitar playing and the gritty combo of John-Hendrik Karsten’s fuzzy bass and Josephine Oleak’s singular drumming makes for a wildly charming stage.

The incredible stormy vocal performance on «Nein» or the stanky delivery on «Die Hand» show a singer who is comfortable in her material and with her members, even though most of the lyrics were written by bassist John. “The symbiosis of music and words comes natural at VOODOO BEACH, ” explains the band about their writing process. “The smell of a song leads to a thought, which can be about life in general, everyday happenings, not happenings, oddities, stupidities and weltschmerz in all directions.”

In the same way, the music of VOODOO BEACH expands in all directions across the album. Already from the first tones of «Fremde Fenster» the atmospheric ambition of the trio becomes clear as they engulf you in warm soundscapes hearkening to the midwest-emo leanings of Explosions in the Sky and American Football. Carried through in the title track, the sonic depth of Wonderful Life is strangely expansive but also quite low-key.