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| Northern Lite |
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"Northern Lite, an
electrorock group, carved out a respectable niche for themselves on the German
music scene, not only via their record releases and remixes, but also via their
own label, 1st Decade Records. Andreas Kubat and Sebastian Bohn a vocalist and
DJ, respectively formed Northern Lite in 1997 in Erfurt, Thuringia, while
guitarist Larry Lowe later joined in 2001, bringing an element of rock music to
the group's style of electronica. Lowe eventually left the group in 2004, going
on to form the solo act Fujimo, and was replaced by guitarist Sascha Littek.
(...) In 2006, Northern Lite saw the first of their releases register on the
German charts, when What You Want climbed to number 61 on the singles
chart as 'Unisex' climbed even higher, to number 29, on the album chart. The
group returned to the German charts in 2007 with Enemy, a collaboration
with Chapeau Claque that peaked at number 51. Northern Lite also has a long
list of remix credits dating back to 2001; among the more notable are Peaches'
Set It Off (2002), Rammstein's
Rosenrot (2005), Schiller's Die Nacht... Du Bist Nicht Allein
(2005), and Yello's Planet Dada (2005)."
-- Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
2001: Small Chamber Works Just click here! to send us your review of this album 2004: Reach the Sun  "Northern Lite starts off their new CD 'Reach the Sun' tastefull and modest with an instrumental intro. Not sure which way to go, 'Reach the Sun' kicks in and this raises high expectations for the rest of the album. It's a nice mixture of synthpop and electro, with now and then some guitars as well. Best discribed as Sigue Sigue Sputnik meets Joy Division. But this album is diverse, very diverse indeed! With highlights like Reach the Sun, Gone, Treat me Better, Looking at you, My Pain and their SSS cover Everybody Loves You. On the other hand, the record contains some deadly boring songs like Even When and Away From You. The five tracks that remain are average, not bad but not world shocking either. The voice of Andreas Kubat is something you love or hate. He sounds rather numb, monotonous and shallow. This creates a great deal of distance and gives the music a clear and cold vibe, while a lot of songs are about love and loved ones! Okay, fair enough, love did show her ugly head again. But do we hear him dying or begging for more? Guess this music is just too light-heartedly for such emotional crap! Or is he just too fucked up to care anymore? The CD booklet contains more arty pictures than words. These panorama pictures aren't very uplifting, but somehow not really depressing either. It's all just very grey, numb. And that's precisely how I feel about this album!"
-- Sin, gothtronic.com
2005: Temper Just click here! to send us your review of this album  ¾
2006:
Unisex
Tracklisting: 01 What You Want 02 Alien Girl 03 I Don’t Remember 04 1-2-3-4 05 Cocaine 06 Enemy 07 Ain’t Coming Back 08 Thousand Year Old Song 09 Dancing With My DemonS 10 Play With Me 11 Tonight 12 Out Of My Head 13 Take It "In 2007, the 6th year of NORTHERN LITE as record releasing artist, the guys just made a big step concerning popularity. With their attendance at the “Bundesvision Song Contest” in that year they not only gained a much wider audience, they also attracted the attention of music television; the venues at their shows especially in their home base Erfurt were sold-out. They were never a pure club act but with their album 'Unisex' they opened their sonic world even more to other genres and thus to whole new audiences, and the pop appeal they always had came to full effect..."
-- Daniela Vorndra, reflectionsofdarkness.com, 7/08
½ 2008:
Super Black
Tracklisting: 01. Liar 02. Girl With A Gun - Album Version 03. If I Knew 04. Different 05. I Cant Believe 06. Im So Glad 07. Super Black 08. Enough 09. In Control 10. My Other Self 11. Please 12. Nowhere 13. The Call "'Super Black' is the fifth and latest offering from German electro-rock heroes, Northern Lite. On the surface, the album may seem anything but super black, but once you look through the deceptively uptempo beats you'll find an undercurrent of jaded cynicism. Many bands take a long time to get comfortable enough to experiment, and some bands never do at all. But 'Super Black' is brave and takes chances that hit more often than miss. The album is a roller coaster, running both hot and cold. Songs that begin optimistically suddenly turn to mournful dirges, and some songs lose their momentum to swirls of psychedelia. The guitars occasionally play tag with a Spanish influence and even arena rock. The opening track is Liar, and it’s clear from the beginning that the deep, steady pulse is building toward something. Although that something eventually happens, it’s pretty late in the game and so doesn’t give the listener a chance to appreciate it. Cheerleading beats on My Other Self implore you to clap along, in the spirit of Unisex’s I Don’t Remember, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Symphonic arrangement and urgent vocals give Please [a Chris Isaak cover] an edge over some of the more unfocused tracks. But it’s the fun and suggestive single Girl With A Gun that undoubtedly steals the show, and may go down as one of the band’s brightest moments.
-- Andie Pardue, theyfell.blogspot.com, 5/08
¼ 2009:
Letters & Signs (Part One)
Tracklisting: 01 Letters & Signs 02 The Sick Rose 03 The Land of Dreams 04 Gimme Your Number 05 Warrior Song 06 Why Do We Stay 07 Bill Gates 08 Flame 09 Hole 10 All for Myself "Germany’s 'Northern Lite' are notoriously hit or miss. Sometimes they reach a level of pretension that’s hard to fathom, other times they hit on a melody or hook that is equally mind-blowing. Their newest effort, 'Letters & Signs Part One' is an interesting leap for the band with some unfortunate signs but a lot of positive ones. A band built in the classic hybrid image – drum machines abound, synths burble and guitars and bass thrum confidently through the mix, they have now taken a turn for the rock and thrown something of a knee to the groin of their electronic side. What’s key to this new effort is their gift for a good hook remains unchallenged. A band that has more often than not sounded like pretty straightforward electronic rock now sounds more like an early 80’s rock band with an electronic influence. Normally this would be a bit of a dark cloud for Softsynth but these guys manage to make it work on the strength of rock-solid songwriting. (...) Is this the most memorable album you’ll listen to this year? Hells no, but it’s more than serviceable..."
-- softsynth.wordpress.com, 10/09
2010: Letters & Signs (Part Two) Tracklisting: 01. In Japan 02. Wicked Mess 03. Run (featuring Chapeau Claque) 04. Home 05. Say my name 06. Begging You 07. Turn up the Bass 08. We all must 09. Honey Bee 10. Let Yourself Go Release date: Jul 30, 2010 |
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