Compute + Liechtenstein
Live @ Bang Bang Club, Berlin 04/15/2009
Berlin's small scene of twee-lovers came together last Wednesday to enjoy a six-band bill including two upcoming Scandinavian bands. After semi-interesting German opener Skirt and charming British band Horovitz, Swedish electronic artist Compute took the stage. Their minimal setup -- singer/composer Ulrika at drum machine and iPod supported by Liechtenstein's singer Renée at keyboards -- contrasted with the more traditional instrumentation of the other five bands. Compute went on to deliver their version of typical contemporary Swedish-pop where cheap-sounding synthesizers and analogue pre-programmed drums are combined with somewhat hysteric, slightly off-key Knife-ish singing. Somehow, their performance seemed unnecessarily restrained though, as if held back by the typical twee shyness surrounding them on this evening. The second Scandinavian band of the night, indiepop trio Liechtenstein from Göteborg, then topped the bill after the crowd had enjoyed very pleasant sets from Australian indie-darlings The Motifs and The Crayon Fields. Liechtenstein actually seemed to be a much better pick for the night than Compute -- people in the half-full club couldn't help moving and dancing to their mixture of mid-eighties indiepop with a few punk influences thrown in. For me, it was especially the driving bass-playing that made Liechtenstein more than just a simple retro-act. Not that I would mind the retroness of it though, in fact, I am actually glad sometimes that my knowledge of "classic" eighties indiepop is small enough so that I can still enjoy such charming current bands without catching all the obvious references to earlier songs and sounds.
- Arnulf Köhncke
