Austrian longings

One of Lord Bassington-Bassington's favourite new neofolk acts these last few years has been Austrian-based Jännerwein. A charming little band that shows great promise, but which, like many new neofolk bands, has been a bit caught in the genre.

Lord Bassington-Bassington feels that music is a bit like cooking: The challenge isn’t so much to create something original (which is easy), but to make something exciting and interesting with the ingredients that are already available. But then, Lord Bassington-Bassington, being a Hound wont to think with his stomach, more or less relates everything to cooking.



Thus, it is with great pleasure that Lord Bassington-Bassington can report that Jännerwein's new album Nach der Sehnsucht takes a great stride away from formulaic neofolk. For those non-German speakers out there the title translates into something like “Towards the Longing”, a nicely romantic (and possibly pretentious) title if there ever was one.

While it maintains the underground and Industrial feel that is such an integral part of the neofolk experience, the songs on Nach der Sehnsucht are more lively, more varied, more self-assured. Just better. In fact, Nach der Sehnsucht is such a rare treat for the neofolk lover that it has been on heavy repeat here at Bassington Manor for the last week, forcing all other records to retreat.





A nice development here at Bassington Manor has been that Lady Mju has become hooked on Nach der Sehnsucht, too. And as Paolo Hewitt once remarked about The Style Council: "(...) the group did gain new converts, and they were mainly female. In pop music, this is always a good sign".

And once the references to classic British music journalism start appearing, the question of what nickname Jännerwein should have inevitably appears. While "the Whiners" and "the Wieners" both have their charm, but Lord Bassington-Bassington is looking for something more catchy. Any suggestions?