20.11.2007

EMPTY+TRASH+Bio+2007_ENG 1

EMPTY TRASH
"Confession"

Finally. Empty Trash, Germany's latest sensation in internationally compatible rock music, are standing in the starting blocks with their debut album. "Confession" is the name of the eagerly awaited album by the five-piece band centred around German media darling Max Buskohl. The members of the band, consisting of lead vocalist Buskohl, Julius Casper Murke on bass, the two guitarists Stefan Kull and Tim Schultheiss, and Per Jacob Blut on drums, are all in their late teens. Accordingly, it comes as no surprise that the five lads from Berlin live up to their inner hotspurs and create a hullabaloo, with the amps turned up to eleven. The band's commitment to "straight rock," as they quite simply call their energetic and highly inflammable rock 'n' roll mixture, certainly produces first-class songs. Empty Trash have already proven with their melodic and extravagantly swinging single "Limited" that they have much more up their sleeves than speed attacks where everything is razed to the ground and all resistance is useless. The smart young upstarts have musical mass appeal, too.

Now they have made the most of an entire album to manifest the band's immense professionalism, enormous stylistic range and, first and foremost, the charisma of their agile front man. Certainly, "Confessions" is no more and no less than a classic rock album, but one to be counted on. Empty Trash know that they cannot re-invent the wheel, but here they attain at a first stroke what other bands have taken years and several albums to achieve. Max Buskohl's amazing performing abilities had already shown when the winsome beanpole appeared in the TV-casting show "Deutschland sucht den Superstar", the equivalent to "Pop Idol". He had entered competition at the beginning of the year by chance, due to a wager with a friend. Subsequently, Buskohl wrote TV history when, shortly before the finale, he decided to quit, stating that his band was more important to him - an equally surprising and steadfast act which was eagerly discussed by the mass media in the weeks that followed. Wittingly or unwittingly, this unusual step by the 'enfant terrible' had managed to bring Empty Trash to public attention. Now is the time to address the huge hype - which brought the band a deal with EMI Music Germany - live up to the expectations and deliver a convincing album.

Empty Trash, who gave some marvellous and convincing live performances during the summer, when they played in clubs all over Germany, have used their time in the studio and have grown into a powerful unity. Three weeks of intense rehearsals and a further three weeks in a Hamburg studio sufficed to wrap up the twelve songs featured on "Confession". Starting with the opener "Ring The Alarm", the five lads truly create an alarm atmosphere. Every riff and every break is perfectly balanced and Max Buskohl delves into every vocal performance with astounding vehemence. This ain't Empty Trash, it's pure luxury. The dynamic production and the recurring tempo changes, sparking congenially, show a surprisingly mature band which has virtually come to prime bloom under the auspices of young Swedish producer, Patrick Berger. Another important influence comes in the person of Carl Carlton, Max's father. The versed musician, who has worked with international rock legends like Robert Palmer, Herman Brood and Mother's Finest, supports his son's band wherever possible. As musical director, he brings in all his experiences, and the newcomers are evidently profiting heavily by this.

Empty Trash certainly have personal preferences and idols, but these function rather as free inspirations than as some matrix to be copied. Songs like "Romance" or "Life's A Tune" roam the high-voltage chapters of rock history like blinding flashes in a thunderstorm. Possible connotations range from AC/DC and Led Zeppelin to Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age - in other words, Empty Trash are keeping perfect company. However, early songs like "Garden Of The Growing Hearts", "I Need" and "Romance" prove that from the very beginning the band had developed its signature style. And Max is an impressive master in walking the tightrope of flying pitch changes. When he abuses his vocal cords like a maniac, he can easily stand any comparison with international shouters. Whether his voice reminds one of the hoarse and fervid pitch of Sting, as in the explosive track "Dirty Habits"; whether he exaltedly stretches and presses his voice as in the booze-up drama "Last Man In The Bar"; or whether he sounds more sensuous, as in "I.M.B.T.I.W.R.T.P." (It's My Bill That I Was Ready To Pay) - the listener always gets the impression that here there is a passionate front man burning his heart out. And when Buskohl swings up to falsetto heights, as in "Tell My Story", the only track that comes close to a ballad, it is simply dizzying.

Most of the songs are focused on girls. They illustrate small dramas like "Ring The Alarm", a plea against getting too tight too early in a relationship, or self-critical comments like "Dirty Habits", where Max himself seems to be puzzled by all the things he manages to get away with. Conflicts in various relationships ("Limited") are trenchantly sounded out; or he tries to come to terms with interpersonal misunderstandings ("Tell My Story"). There are songs dedicated to brief amorous encounters, such as the memory of a fierce fling during a holiday in Italy ("I Need"), or a cool rendezvous in Los Angeles ("L.A. Queen"), where the couple roams the night-time city just like in the classic movie "Before Sunrise". And then there are songs that serve as nostalgic recollections: "Garden Of The Growing Hearts" is a reminiscence of the secret places of childhood, which Max spent primarily on Lanzarote. Now and then, Max Buskohl's lyrics, which he himself describes as naive, reveal the romantic, the crush boy who is haunted by fear of loss, as in "Confession", which was inspired by a nightmare.

The story of Empty Trash began a good two years ago. Max had returned to Berlin from boarding school in Ireland. At the Nelson Mandela School in Berlin he met Per, who at the time was playing in another band. The two teens became friends and decided to start their own thing. Julius was like-minded, and although he had never played the bass before, he created his landmark style within no time, adding substantially to Empty Trash's easy-going dynamo sound as did Stefan, the adventurous and aspiring guitarist of the newly-formed band. Last year, Empty Trash won the Berlin band contest "Emergenza". From then on, the 'best band of the city' performed one gig after another. For four months they had to find a substitute for bass player Julius, who went to the US as an exchange student. In early 2007, guitarist Tim joined the band. He fits perfectly into the structure of the band and supports Max as backing vocalist. Empty Trash are finally complete and ready to get cracking.

Empty Trash have everything it wants to become the next big thing. They are young, look smashing, and they play as if the devil was chasing them. "Confession", which by the way was congenially mixed by no other than Hives-producer Pelle Gunnarfeldt, is a top-notch and extremely convincing debut album and has all it needs to storm the charts.

November 2007