Jungbluth "Love Cult" Review

Jungbluth, for those who don't know, is an incredible, heavy, post-punk band from Munster, Germany with strong feelings of distaste towards any forms of oppression. They just self-released their second LP, Love Cult, and I think that alone speaks volumes for the band as a whole and the individuals who make up the band. It's refreshing to see a band with such a positive stand who also truly reflects and practices the DIY ethics that this community always encourages.

With this new record the band matured in both production and sound. The song direction rivals the sound of new Loma Prieta, in my opinion, and I love it. Everything about this record, and especially regarding the production quality, is deliberate. I can't get over the drums. I find that they take more of a standout role on this record. That snare drum is so incredible. It lacks that overly crisp pop sound that bands use too often, and replaces it with a deeper thud that works so well.

When Part Ache, Jungbluth's first LP, was released, I had it on heavy rotation and it was in my top albums of the year list. When a band makes an album like that it's always unnerving to hear what's next. Sometimes I feel that the pressure of releasing such a great album can get to a band and they get lost in trying to "one up" themselves. With Jungbluth this is not the case. Love Cult is a smack in the face to people like me who worry and become anxious about a follow up record to something that feels untouchable.

The record starts off with "Everytime Geradeaus" which is really straightforward and to the point. The drums stand out a lot on this track. We lead into the bass driven "King of the Hill." There is a great riff through the first minute and a half and then into this great groovy breakdown type part. The transition from this song into "Schrödinger’s Katze" is perfect. This is one of those songs where the lyrics fit so well with the music. It barrels through the issue with giving a relationship an actual name instead of leaving the tags out of it and enjoying it for what it is. The vocals chant, "Run twice as fast, get half as far. Until the day we gave it a name. Until the day everything stopped," and the music goes into this slow heavy ender. So good.

"Charades" slows the pace down a bit and we get a lot of great noisy guitar work and some drawn out parts that you can really get into. This is the point in the record where I'm like, wow. Everything moves so fluently. This is where the "deliberateness" comes to mind. 

"Untitled" hits right in the middle of the record and split is up nicely with a solid drum heavy instrumental track. This is one of my favorites. This is where a lot of what just happened sinks in. This is one of my favorite tracks.

"Sternstunden der Doppelmoral" is the shortest song on the record and it just goes. This song does not stop. There is no room for breathing. You did that during the previous song. Suck it up and you can breathe again during "Dead Keys" due to the slower pace. It has a really nice head bopping groove.

"Lokalkolorit" is the longest song on the record but by listening to the way Jungbluth goes hard into it you wouldn't think so. This song, in my opinion, is the anthem song for the record. "This Society. Your Society. I'm dying. You're dying. We're dying. They're dying." That slow part in there too with the single notes. Oh man. That's when you know. That's the spot right there where it's clear. You know what it is. Don't ask me. This is my favorite track.

"Overdose Us" has this great bass line that plays through a lot of the song and when the guitar starts hittng those high notes with that constant strumming it's wonderful. Then there's this great heavy part at the end. This song reminds me more of the stuff you hear on Part Ache.

Love Cult closes with the sludgy feedback filled "Empathy is not a Competition." A perfect way to end the record. It's heavy, constant pounding, steady and the ending is so abrupt I kept waiting for it to kick in again but it won't and it doesn't have to.

This. Is. Perfect.

"This record does not only deal with love, but it is also based around the ongoing capitalization of more and more areas of our everyday life. if we start to pay for our own emotions, if the relations to our own body and to the people around us become an optimized ideal of something we can buy, then can we call this love?" 

Stream the record here on bandcamp and make sure to pick one up from the band in their shop. US distribution via the mighty Halo Of Flies.


Jungbluth are on tour now. See them if you can and support the cause.