Review Summary: What was once called new-wave music is what Carlsson re-crafts on the "Waiting EP" into something that maybe should now be called nu-wave. He takes a very minimalistic approach when it comes to lyrics and manages to say a lot with very little.
German synth-pop artist Carlsson is an enigma. The 5 tracks that make up his "Waiting EP" are at times confident, and sometimes slightly nervous and unsure. At other times they're insightful, but blind. Most of all, Carlsson's songs are bitter yet sweet. In fact, his music is the embodiment of the term "Weltschmerz".
"Weltschmerz" was coined by German author Jean Paul Richter as a label for the feeling that the experience of physical reality fails to fulfill and satisfy the demands of the mind. Think of it as a perfect Sturm und Drang cocktail: 1 part pain, 1 part angst, 2 parts disappointment, a splash of emptiness, a twist of resignation, and a dash of depression.
While this mixture of pathos and melancholia may sound like a soundtrack to slit your wrists by, it is Carlsson's vocal and instrumental performances on this compilation that raises the listener above his song's nihilistic sentiments, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Beautiful synth pads and Carlsson's plaintive voice provide the wings that allow us to soar above the suffering. His arrangement of musical phrases and passages are like the balm that returns clear sight to eyes that, perhaps, have just seen too much of what a world like ours can do to a tender soul.
What was once called new-wave music is what Carlsson re-crafts on the "Waiting EP" into something that maybe should now be called nu-wave. It's more than just electronic - it's actually neon. He takes a very minimalistic approach when it comes to lyrics and manages to say a lot with very little. In the song "Departure" he sings of how, "I'm going to leave you tonight/Cause it will only hurt for the moment/And tomorrow will still be today/Nobody knows where I'm going/But I will never be away". To me, that just about says it all.
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