Deine Lakaien and the Red Wine Allegory

Four summers have passed since Ernst Horn and Alexander Veljanov released Indicator. Four long years during which people could speculate as to whether the gentlemen would be able to build on their success. Deine Lakaien are no ordinary band. Veljanov, the singer with Macedonian roots and extravagant hair, and Horn, the studied and virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, have 16 years of life experience between them. Since 1985, they have bridged the generational gap through their music.

Shackle-free Compromises

Since their first successes with Dark Star and Forest Enter Exit, Deine Lakaien have only gradually changed. Their musical code is unmistakable, their diversity unrivalled, so that their sounds are pigeonholed under a meaningless «avant-garde». Ernst Horn used to be a conductor and theatre pianist. Veljanov was a young wave artist who studied theatre and film in Munich and dreamt of dark melodies.

Veljanov said in 2007 to the Tagesspiegel:

There were two men standing opposite each other, who were quite different, and the age difference was obvious. When we started talking about music, the ice was quickly broken, even though our musical tastes could not have been more different.

The early works of these two very different men were characterised by schizophrenia. The fading era of dark wave resonated in the hammering Dark Star, while Spring Dream could not resist the classic influences of Horn in its gentle melancholy. Over decades, Horn and Veljanov met somewhere in the middle of their tastes. Compromises are usually counterproductive, but Deine Lakaien did not tie themselves up and created something unnameable and yet familiar.

Melancholy in the Crystal Palace

Depending on how you count it, Crystal Palace is the ninth or tenth album. You certainly can't say that the lackeys are overflowing with creativity. However, they are forgiven because their music is captivating on every album.

Crystal Palace is no exception. Ten songs, three of which are added to the special edition, nestle together and belong together more unequivocally than on any other Lakaien work before. It is difficult to say what a typical song by the duo sounds like. Nevertheless, the gently building Nevermore makes it unmistakably clear who is behind these sounds. Deine Lakaien shine with outstanding lyrics from the very first song:

Nevermore will I fall in love,
Nevermore will I fall in love,
No more laughter,
No more tears in my eyes,
No more belief,
And no more these white lies.

Perhaps not an optimistic start to an album, but melancholy is as much a part of the band as the repetitive elements in their songwriting. And while Nevermore is still dominated by discouragement, Farewell already radiates more self-confidence:

Farewell, farewell, my own true love,
Blurred are the fields, we’ve been dreaming of,
Hazy the days I tried to foretell,
Farewell, my love, farewell.

Ride through the Darkness

Crystal Palace, the album's namesake, skilfully plays with pop elements, wavering chamber music, and even some blues rock can be discerned. A mixture that usually causes nausea.

However, one song stands out from the album like no other: The Ride. Fast, relentless and demanding. Fast-paced, like in their early years, even Veljanov's deliberate voice struggles to keep the arrangement in check. A ride through the darkness, haunted by pale ghosts. Once again, Veljanov shows that he is a master of his trade and has mastered the art of half-tones.

The album Crystal Palace fulfils wishes. Driving tracks like The Ride or the stomping Those Hills shake hands with the dreamy melodies in Eternal Sun or Forever and a Day as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After almost 30 years, we know what to expect from Deine Lakaien, and yet Ernst Horn and Alexander Veljanov always manage to surprise us.

Those who don't like the band won't be converted by Crystal Palace either. For everyone else, I highly recommend buying it so you can close your eyes, enjoy a glass of good red wine and listen to sounds from another world.

Deine Lakaien – Crystal Palace

Release: 08/08/2014

1. Nevermore
2. Farewell
3. Forever and a Day
4. The Ride
5. Where the Winds don’t blow
6. Crystal Palace
7. Why the Stars
8. The Lights of our Street
9. Those Hills
10. Eternal Sun

Special Edition
11. The Swan Song
12. Portuguese Trails
13. Pilgrim