This is the first album by the eclectic Austrian duo
Attwenger, who are Hans-Peter Falkner on accordion, harmonica, and synthesizers and Markus Binder on drums and percussion. Their four albums issued by Trikont are all different from one another, but this one is by far the most irritating, featuring mostly polkas and drinking songs all played with a wink. It's not that these men don't know how to play this music reverently. They do. But they mutate its lyrics to be clever while keeping traditional beats, throwing in a synth here and there or a drum machine to make the track play faster than anybody could possibly dance to. It's interesting for about three songs, and then it's "Ok, ok, I get it." Whether the cut is down-tempo and recited or up-tempo and sung in harmony, it all comes off as sounding the same. This disc is a real bore; but then, maybe I'm not getting the joke. ~ Thom Jurek