And OneVirgin Records
(1997)
Germany's And One has long been one of the oddest bands. Don't get me wrong, they are also one of my favorite bands but there's always been something a bit off-kilter about this band and I think its that they have the ability to range from quirky (bordering on crazy) to dramatic, and that quirky side can get down right odd (see their most recent video of a lounge version of "Military Fashion Show"). In a sense And One is like a great comedic actor that crosses over to drama and excels at both, and is almost always entertaining. And One's junior effort Nordhausen is a perfect display of the band's dynamic abilities.
I don't want to dwell too much on the odd side of And One because I don't think its the only thing that defines the band but you can help but notice songs on this album like "Sweety Sweety" which is essentially a proposal for an undefined lady to marry the first person subject of the song, bare children, and basically have the whole white picket fence scenario. The song is actually very sweet, and leans much more on And One's synthpop side, but remains sort of a curiously odd song. The other song on the album I would say is in the same vein is And One's cover of Swedish musician Harpo's 1970's song "Movie Star". I love the cheesy sound effects and bubbly synthpop aided by And One collaborator Anja Krenz's guest vocals.
I guess at this point I've turned an about-face because I think odd is the wrong choice of words. Realistically And One is just charming and its songs like these that make for very light (but nonetheless heartfelt) moments that contrast really nicely with the more somber moments on the album like "Sometimes". "Sometimes" is one of those songs that I think helps endear And One to the Goth/Industrial crowd because there's a great fun-EBM club sound to this song but you also have the more downer lyrics about wanting to be alone but not really knowing what you want at all. I know this can come off as a real debby-downer but its honest and its how so many feel whether they want to admit it or not. This more somber side comes out perhaps even more intensely in the last two tracks on the album "Mirror In Your Heart" and the title track "Nordhausen", which remove a little bit of that club friendliness (although "Mirror In Your Heart" still has great synth work reminiscent of Ultra-era Depeche Mode (interestingly both that album and this one were both released in 1997).
One of my favorite aspects about And One has always been that while you get most of their songs sung in English that there always sprinklings of those German songs that compliment the band well and evoke thoughts of Kraftwerk, the Autobahn, and The Bauhaus (the school, not the band). On this album we get songs like "Uns Gehts Gut" which is just a really cool minimalist song that shows a different side of And One. Certainly And One is a band that isn't afraid to experiment and the album actually starts off with "Und Dafür", which has that signature And One sound but is missing the band's trademark vocal work by Steve Naghavi. Now I love Naghavi's vocals but I actually find it refreshing to have a song that can stand on its own for the rest of the composition.
Nordhausen does not have any of the signature songs that you associate with And One ("Panzermensch", "Goodbye Germany", "Techno Man", "Military Fashion Show", "Wasted", etc.) and its possible that it passed you by the first time so I highly recommend adding it to your collection as it is really one of their most top to bottom solid albums with really no bad tracks in the entire thing and a few songs that really should be in your top ten list of And One classics. The album is well-produced Steve Naghavi and band-mate/drummer/back-up vocalist Joke Jay (now an ex-member of the band but a long-time creative force in And One), solid keyboards by Rich Schah with great guest work by the aforementioned vocalist Anja Krenz and pianist Piano Reeves.
Favorite Tracks: Und Dafür, Sometimes, Movie Star, Sweety Sweety, Sitata Tiralala, and Mirror In Your Heart
http://www.andone.de/
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