Super700 - Under The No Sky

When on tour in Germany with Stressechoes recently, I spent one relaxed evening scrolling through the local television channels in my Berlin hotel room. I stumbled across a channel, the name of which escapes me now, which seemed to be dedicated primarily to showcasing a mix of recommended national bands and local DJ's.

Luckily, I had managed to join the channel just at the start of a live version of the track 'When The Evening Comes' by the Berlin based band Super700. The track seemed to rise and fall, carried throughout by a staggered yet soft rhythm, accompanied by a lilting electric guitar and a choir of harmonies to support the delicate vocal from front woman, Ibadet Ramadani. Initially, I thought that this was purely down to the fact that it was a live recording and that if I were to hear the original, I would be somewhat disappointed.

When I got home, I listened to their 2012 album, 'Under The No Sky' as I insisted that I be proven wrong.

Under The No Sky

 



From the start, this album suggests a bleak and unsettling tone that is set to run through the albums entirety.

Beginning with '21st Century Girl', the idea of the individual feeling isolated in modern day society seems to be the prominent theme, set against a 'funeral march' style accompaniment. Other tracks which follow this ethos include 'Decent Snow' which offers the closing line "I invite you all to eat my soul', and the albums closer 'Queen Of The Inbetween' where the narrator questions their own self doubt and their position in life.

But this idea changes distinctly with the uptempo sprawl of 'Life with Grace' which spreads a relatively cheery sense of hope amongst the angst of the modern age. "Space may be the place, to life your life with grace" . This strand of optimism runs through the more laid back stripped down track, 'Old Moon', a tender love song for the night sky.

In fact, the musicality and atmosphere of the album as a whole is key to note as it manages to straddle both the despair of loneliness and the hope of a better future involving love. The arrangements and sounds that Super700 create on Under The No Sky are at times murky and thumping, whereas at other moments hold a dream like ethereal quality. With this mentality, it is not far removed from early Howling Bells or 'In Rainbows' era Radiohead.

The album's title track securely binds the aforementioned see-sawing musical moods and pushes forward the concept of a bleak reality in a world without light. "Under the no sky, there'll be millions waiting, for the sun to shine".

Oh, and the album version of 'When The Evening Comes' does not disappoint with its gentle piano build, which feeds into the rumbling chaos giving way for Ramadani's soaring vocal.

This album stands as a great example of the band's work, and after having listened to this album intently, I implore you to explore the band's previous work. It also holds as a shining example of when a band can produce an adequet leveller between these emotions, yet manage to provide a soundtrack of such delicate and moving sounds to really bring it to life.

A very impressive piece. All that is left is to track them down to see if the rest of the album sounds as good live as 'When The Evening Comes' did. I expect to be proven right!