“Loss & Love”—14 songs full of longing and fragility. New times evoke new narratives and new emotions. “Loss & Love” sounds more forceful, more demanding and rougher than its predecessor, though without losing its touching intimacy and simplicity.

 

Georg Altziebler, in his own words: “Loss & Love—two sides of a coin. Or: Siamese twins whose separation seldom succeeds. It’s not that the songs on this new album are strategically designed to revolve around this conceptual pair, but it nevertheless remains the constant that’s engraved into the music. In retrospect, Loss & Love are what remain.”

 

What likewise remain are facts—stuff that Altziebler doesn’t particularly like to make a big deal about but that are worth mentioning anyway. “Loss & Love” was recorded at 16-Ton Studio in Nashville TN with Ken Coomer, formerly of the US indie band Wilco, involved as producer and drummer. Recording and mixing were by Charlie Brocco, who’s worked with such greats as B.B. King and the Talking Heads. The combination of Nashville, Altziebler, Coomer and Brocco has audibly succeeded; the result is European neo-folk chanson with a shot of alternative country.

 

Another notable development is the instrumental enhancement: “Playground” got by primarily with guitar, bass, harmonica and vocals, whereas “Loss & Love” features such sound rarities as the Optigan (a veteran of the ‘70s that could be termed the forerunner of classic sampling machines), the cello and the Hammond organ. Though they’re by no means there as allusions to the history of rock music, but rather as stylistic devices that dovetail beautifully with the songs and the moods they engender.

 

The search for the artistic influences on Georg Altziebler’s current oeuvre leads to some rather obscure sources. One example is Fred Cole, singer and songwriter of the US garage rock/punk band Dead Moon, which disbanded in 2006 after 20 years together. “Out in the Blue,” the only cover version on “Loss & Love,” comes from Cole.

 

Some people might be wondering why SotVR prefers to release recordings precisely in the summer months—after all, you would think that music guaranteed to moisten eyes and move hearts would be better suited to dismal winter days. But consider, if you will, an alternative scenario: oppressively humid midday heat, withered patches of lawn and dusty streets; you’re sitting in a creaky rocking chair on a veranda overlooking the Cumberland River, the Danube Canal or the rooftops of a city somewhere on this gray-blue planet, waiting for the sun to go down …

 

Yet another captivating vision; another chance to get carried away; and a fresh impetus to follow Georg Altziebler on velvety rats paws into his landscape of the soul.

​

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

​

Son Of The Velvet Rat feiern heuer ein rundes Jubiläum, als Band und - nebenbei bemerkt - auch als Paar. Aus diesem Anlass erscheint im heurigen Jahr jeweils am letzten Freitag des Monats, ein Album oder eine EP aus dem Back-Katalog als Re-release. 

​

Am 26. April steht nun der erste in den Vereinigten Staaten produzierte Longplayer „Loss & Love“ (ursprünglich erschienen 2007) auf dem Programm.

​

Aus dem damaligen Pressetext von monkey.music:

"14 Songs voll Melancholie, Sehnsucht und Zerbrechlichkeit. Neue Zeiten bringen neue Geschichten und neue Emotionen. „Loss & Love“ klingt forscher, fordernder und rauer als der Vorgänger “Playground", ohne aber dessen berührende Intimität und Schlichtheit zu verlieren. 

​

„Loss & Love – zwei Seiten einer Münze oder auch siamesische Zwillinge, deren Trennung selten glückt. Nicht, dass die Lieder des neuen Albums darauf angelegt waren, dieses Begriffspaar zu umkreisen, es bildet dennoch die Konstante, die den Songs eingeschrieben ist. Im Rückblick sind Verlust und Liebe das, was bleibt“, meint Georg Altziebler. 

​

Was ebenfalls bleibt, sind Fakten, die SotVR zwar nicht gerne an die große Glocke hängen, die aber auf jeden Fall zu erwähnen sind: Aufgenommen wurde „Loss & Love“ im 16-Ton Studio in Nashville (Tennessee, US) mit Ken Coomer, Ex-Drummer der US- amerikanischen Indie-Band Wilco, der als Produzent und Schlagzeuger mitwirkt. Für Aufnahme und Mix zeichnet Charlie Brocco verantwortlich, der unter anderen mit Größen wie B. B. King und den Talking Heads zusammen gearbeitet hat. Die Kombination aus Nashville, Altziebler, Coomer und Brocco ist eine hörbar gelungene: Europäisches Neo-Folk-Chanson mit einem Schuss Alternative Country."

​