Stella Sommer, Bruce Springsteen, Arrest Warrant, Ryuichi Sakamoto: The Albums of the Week Soundcheck

Stella Sommer: “Silence Wore A Silver Coat” (Buback)
Who puts out double albums these days? When in doubt, only her. And the format is of course the message. Here someone focuses on the music, on the songwriting and on timeless production. oversharing would be death. Zeitgeist certainly too. Their music is anti-pandering. Once known for Die Heiterkeit, she has been singing in English for three Stella Sommer albums. Sonically still in the Nico & The Velvet Underground manner, Stella Sommer draws big metaphors, the meaning of which usually remains opaque like “London Fog in LA”. Raffaela Jungbauer, Radio One

Bruce Springsteen: “Only the Strong Survive” (Columbia)
Bruce Springsteen covers twelve mostly unknown soul numbers. The choir sings the first words: “I remember.” This is a throwback to the time when black soul music dreamed of being integrated into the mass market. The end brackets the theme again: “Someday We’ll be Together.” The music stays close to the original versions. The boss bows to this tradition. Touching, vocally amazing, in some cases great, but the spark often doesn’t want to jump out of the story to us. Tobi Müller, freelance author

Arrest Warrant: “Mainpark Baby” (Universal)
Arrest warrant is recovering from his recent escapades in Dubai, which obviously sharpens your perspective: In his Mainpark rhapsody, the Offenbach rapper’s hometown becomes a code for male post-migrant biographies between new beginnings and failure. On the last arrest warrant albums there were always two or three particularly garish, striking songs that towered above all others. Now he has made his most homogeneous album to date. Torsten Groß, moderator

A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto: “To The Moon And Back” (Sony)
The Japanese grandmaster has, in his own words, “zigzagged” through genres. Piano sonatas, ambient compositions and film soundtracks alternate. Now musicians as diverse as Thundercat, David Sylvian or Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai are exploring the work of the 70-year-old. This ranges from technoid beat meditations to elegiac ballads, for which Sakamoto always had a knack. If the original is too spartan for you, you will find it immersed in the splendor of the pop interpretation. This is more than a tribute. Kai Müller, Tagesspiegel

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