THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “No matter how much of their filthy riches Munich’s oh-so-shiny and smart glitterati are going to spend on generic pest control, they’ll never manage to exterminate spinnen (German for “spiders” — and also for “being bonkers”). Instead, spinnen will spread even farther; they’ll form new networks, take over new corners, new spots, connect more musical dots with invisible, incendiary cobwebs.
Specifically, these Spinnen — Sophie Neudecker (drums) and Veronica “Katta” Burnuthian (bass) — have been doing their spidery thing(s) in muggy, experimental corners of Munich for years, in bands with names like Bombo, Uschi, Apian, The Living Object and Friends of Gas. As its title suggests, the duo’s first full-length sees them moving towards a warm light — Warmes Licht. Inspired by Lambrini Girls, Peaches, mclusky, Amyl And The Sniffers, and all things loud and heavy around their hometown, their album features two body parts (A + B sides), and eight legs (tracks).
“Zusammen wachsen / Zusammen fallen,” meaning ‘grow together / fall together’ feels like a fitting motto on opening track Träume, an onslaught of shouts, spiky basslines, crunchy chords, and a lot of awesome friction in that lovely lower end. “Visionen folgen / Kämpfen und Erschaffen,” is another apt line while doing just that — fighting, creating, turning visions into soundscapes of pure sonic fun and resistance. Putting even more pressure on the mosh pit with wordless Wirken, that warm light eventually breaks through towards the end of Moment: The lyrics might talk about a calm state of mind — but these two are not slowing down, not aiming for consistency, or for making it.
Warm has no drums, no message; it’s pure light, all playful organ hypnosis, paving the way for the B-side that opens with first single Geister (spirits / ghosts / genies): Arriving with a rough wind that immediately turns things upside down, it’s all screams and riffs, turbines and propellers — one of many moments that make you realize how bad you want to see this high-octane duo live, how good it must feel to have them scare the shit out of your body (“Verscheuche mich aus meinem Körper”). They’re like two genies coming from the same smashed bottle, offering three wishes to those lucky enough to listen to their sound and clever enough to give it a name (Fuzzy noise-pop? Punk catharsis? Rrriot Krautsound?).
Following a quick melancholy breather (Lichter), things once again get restless as they rush towards the finale via slow-burning demolisher anthem Ermüdend / Immer Wieder, only to unleash one last battle cry, one last middle finger made of light and noise to the heated room (Mäuse) they’ve long taken over.
It’s certainly no coincidence that a certain square / fine / upstanding citizen named Margit O. gave Munich’s Bürgerpark Oberföhring a scathing one-star review on Google Maps exactly four years ago — at the very moment that Sophie and Katta first met just there, which eventually lead to the formation of Spinnen. The reason for O.’s negative rating: “Too loud.”
