Fenster – Bones (2012)

Even though Berlin has been the epicentre of hipster-movement in Europe, I haven't heard of many indie bands from there. I'm sure there must be loads of them, but for some reason it's difficult for them to break outside of their home country. Maybe it's because of the language. Anyway, I was introduced to Berlin-based Fenster when they were warming up for Woods at The Lexington here in London. Their show made a good impression on me and I ended up buying their vinyl record from the bass player after their show. In hindsight, the band was much better live than on this album. The recording is quite lo-fi and raw. This has changed a bit for their later albums, but then again, the acoustic folk sound has been replaced by strange space organ sounds, which doesn't work as well for me personally. So, even if this album sounds a bit raw, it's probably the best album from the band.



When I saw Fenster live, I had just joined a indie folk band myself and I was really enthusiastic about these kinds of bands. Fenster was a bit more modern in sounds than my own band and they focused more on rhythm. I've always been a melody-lover myself, but if the rhythms are well made and there are some melodies as well, I'm usually intrigued. I can hear many different influences in Fenster's music. There's a bit of indie rock in the style of Fanfarlo or Frightened Rabbit, some shoegaze influences from bands such as Mazzy Star, some folk influences from artists such as José Gonzales and even some electronic influences.

The album starts with an upbeat song Oh Canyon, which has a great melody and structure, but the vocals are muffled and lo-fi, which I think is a bit unnecessary. I don't know if it's because the recording equipment wasn't that good or it's just the intentional sound they were going for. Fantasty II has some echoey guitars that make it sound a bit like Beach House. The laconic vocals work quite well in this song, and the song itself gets new life in choruses, but there's that final exploding bit missing that would really make this song a hit. White to Red is a prime example of slacker indie pop with simple and lo-fi guitar sounds and laconic and tired sounding vocals. Blue to White has the most polished sounds of any song so far. There's more air in the vocals, while the instruments creep quietly in the background. Gravediggers is a rhythmic folk song that focuses more on the drums than any other instruments. Melody is made purely with vocals. The Hunter has a great build-up quality with ticking clock kind of sound and banjo. This song has a great sense of drama. Fisherman uses strange experimental sounds that have been made using quite conventional instruments. I really like the soundworld in this song. Golden Boy is the most experimental song on the album. Parts have been recorded in reverse much like some experimental Beatles songs years ago. The beginning of the song consists of just vocals and buzzes and humming. The last song, Gespenster, has some electronic stylings and airy vocals.

The music video for Oh Canyon is probably the most hipstery thing you've ever seen. It features real animals that were sent to space during the space race. The band members look for signs of these creatures in the nature looking super hipstery. There's a strong ironic Eastern block style in this video.

Fenster may not be the most exciting band out there, but it's a great reminder that I should try and do more work to find all of those cool bands from Berlin that haven't just made themselves known outside of Germany. Bones is a good early album, but the only way this band would really get exciting is if they put a bit more thought into their recordings.

Listen to the album on Spotify.