LOIKAEMIE - Menschen - LP, Magenta Transparent Vinyl

16 years after the last studio album comes the new album from LOIKAEMIE called "Menschen"! "Buckle up! Unbelievable, but true! Fucking axe!" The words from Saxony's biggest punk festival couldn't have been any smaller. With their surprise headliner, Back To Future 2019 announced: LOIKAMIE is back! Within five years, a jolt went through the European Oi! and (street) punk scene twice: the emotions were heavy at their farewell in 2014, but the euphoria at their live comeback was all the greater! And even greater with 12 new songs! Since 2019, LOIKAEMIE has been a permanent fixture again, high up in the line-ups of festivals and clubs far beyond Germany. Thomas, Eddie, Paul and Bruno have not only been able to seamlessly pick up where they left off live, but have also moved up a level, with young and old coming together at the concerts in all their subcultural diversity, LOIKAEMIE is a band that everyone can agree on - in the best sense of the word. Creativity has also reawakened: 2022 saw the release of "Lumpenmann" and "Tief im Herzen", the first new songs since 2007 (digitally and as a limited edition 7" single), as well as "Was Soll Die Ganze Scheisse?" and "Lasst Uns rein"all harbingers of the upcoming fifth studio album "Menschen" and already at home on a lot of playlists. No wonder that after 16 years the expectations are huge, both for the fans and the band itself. And "Menschen" is nothing less than a manifesto of what punk rock should sound like in 2023: Snotty and melodic, uncompromising and reflective, political and good-humoured. All twelve ear-cutters breathe the unmistakable LOIKAEMIE spirit and yet "Menschen" is a huge step forwards. Even the extremely modern-sounding opener "Wenn wir alle so wären" sweeps away everything that is currently pogoing trivially through the punk scene on platitudes, from the subsequent anthemic title track to the concluding self-invitation "Lasst und rein", the energy remains at the top, while at the same time the album is more multi-layered than ever before in the band's history. Street punk and rock'n'roll planks are joined by reggae, spoken word, ballads and melodies that wouldn't have to hide in pop either. Instead of pithy statements, the lyrics tell trenchant stories, share thoughtful thoughts on current miseries in the world, the scene or their own heads. But there is also no shying away from the anthemic chorus, which full concert halls can sing together from now on. Oi!, what banging hits they are! Here strictly limited exclusively on transparent magenta vinyl, in gatefold cover with printed inner sleeve!