Die Doraus und die Marinas, Blumen und Narzissen (side A)

Andreas Dorau released two singles in 1981.  While "Der Lachende Papst" has been largely forgotten,  "Fred Vom Jupiter" became such a club hit in Berlin that German friends wince at a mere mention of the title.  "Fred" documents a visit from a spaceman, using analog synths, drum machines, and chirpy pitch-shifted vocals.  The rest of Dorau's debut album, with Die Doraus und die Marinas, surrounds "Fred Vom Jupiter" with songs that are similar but do not entirely repeat its formula.  While most songs seem to have narrative lyrics (without speaking German, I can't confirm), they do not rely on programmatic sound effects in the same fashion.  Some sounds here appear to come from instruments like melodica and bass guitar, accompanying the memorable drum machines and analog synthesizers from the hit single.  While Dorau relies on overt, major-key melodies, they tend to be a bit less exaggerated, as are the pitch-shifted vocals which appear occasionally.  The recording is consistently simple and competent, neither purposely lo-fi nor audibly refined.  Using a cover portrait of the musician seemed common on this era, even for impersonal albums where it seemed inappropriate, like Blumen und Narzissen or Henry Badowski's Life is a Gas.  The use of gold leaf lettering here at least distracts a little bit from the focus on Dorau's face.

Art Bears, Winter Songs (side A)

It's easy to find 1979's Winter Songs confusing, as I did many years ago on first listen.  The songs are stylistically diverse, and it's purposely sequenced to emphasize the variations.  Tracks rarely flow neatly together, with each track newly demanding attention as it leaps from the last.  Some elements reference rock music, like the guitar / drum heavy arrangements, short song lengths, and repeating drum patterns.  These elements are juxtaposed with very incongruous ideas from other musical traditions, especially Dagmar Krause's vocal melodies, which loosely borrow from Eastern European folk and Western classical forms, but mostly create a unique musical language of their own.  Neither the melodies nor Krause's style draw a listener in — they also do not create any purposeful emotional arc.  Winter Songs expects repeated listens to reconcile its conflicting tendencies and ideas.  The songs are purposely well-crafted, and the musicianship is excellent.  The cover painting and design somehow manage to reflect the range of ideas captured here, without seeming inappropriately chaotic.  The slightly bright and lo-fi quality of the recording and mastering does not match or flatter the work, even as the variety of approaches and sounds captured is impressive.