Reviews

Christopher Llewellyn Adams (Cashbox Magazine)

Music at it's best can brighten your soul, change your mood, and keep you humming a tune all day long. Music at it's worst can make you wish you had bought some Fig Newtons with the money you just spent on an album. Somewhere in between lies Magnetfisch. In every musician lies the heart of a champion and the mind of an artist, and Magnetfisch clearly gave all they had with this release. The lyrics are poignant and the arrangements are solidly produced, but I feel they could have done a little more to grab the audience and capture their attention. "Spit Me Out Before I Drown" is one of the album's top shelf tracks. It has a great line which vividly described what the band was feeling with the song; "They talked to me in a code I could not understand but as I spoke I spoke like them heading off for the unknown land." I look forward to the next release from this group. It is hard to believe that this effort won't be topped the next time out.

Alexander Pohle (backagain.de)

Magnetfisch already exist since 1998, and from a duo, which originally played instrumental music with roots in the 80ies New Wave, they became an outright band after two beautiful albums. Still, they let their roots shine through and do not deny them at all. Thanks to the singer Seline Kunz, the instrumental compositions became full-blown songs with catchy tunes that will find lots of fans amongst aficionados of good old New Wave. Although the music is electronic in its structure, I personally rather see the incisive guitar sounds, which remind me of giants like The Durutti Column, And Also The Trees and The Cure. The congenial voice of Seline Kunz contributes to make botox a very beautiful single, leaving us waiting impatiently for new songs. Unfortunately, such melodic, unobtrusive New Wave is much too rare nowadays.

Jörg David (Synthetics Magazine

A few bands succeed in developing themselves and truly taking a step forward. For most, development stops here: experience has been gained, but without real progress. Magnetfisch, who have become a quartet since, are a noticeable exception. In the past they proved expressively that they were able to compose moving, calm and melodious instrumental arrangements. The original duo made of Timothée Barrelet (keyboards, programming) and Patrick Scherrer (guitar) was rejoined by bass player Rolf Althaus and singer Seline Kunz. She eventually gives a charismatic visage to the band’s compositions and completes the instrumentals with a voice which perfectly fits in. In the wide worlds between synth pop and new wave, Magnetfisch have sort of created an own segment by combining guitars and synthesizers in their own way. The lead track, “botox”, is simultaneously buoyant and harmonious and accentuates Seline Kunz’s distinctive voice. In my opinion, “poisonous trace” is the best song of the single, pricking one’s ears with its melodies and by the singing. The change of speed towards the end is impressive, and the voice reminds me Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie And The Banshees) at times, with a hint of Marion Küchenmeister (Invisible Limits). "Footloose and Steady" is by no means inferior to its predecessor, with the awe-inspiring bass playing by Rolf Althaus coming to the fore.