German folk rock band Knasterbart have chosen the hard life of a bunch of partying hicks since 2012. Their fourth album ‘Perlen vor die Säue’, translated “Pearls for sows (female swine)” is a hefty, rough-and-ready album for all future piglets and those who already know how to grunt. Knasterbart kept the album cover very simple: a jar with colourful jellybeans with the band name on a tag and a label with the album title on.

Knasterbart consists of:

• Hotze (vocals)
• Fummelfips (vocals, mandolin)
• Hackepeter (guitar)
• Schramme (guitar)
• Fidolin (violin)
• Klappstuhl (bass)
• Knüppelkalle (drums)

The album starts with the title track ‘Perlen für die Säue’, which sets the theme from the beginning. The song starts with a person who is walking between the pigs and piglets while he’s whistling. It’s a lively folk song to dance on. Hotze en Fummelfips vocals are typical German, with a rough edge. The backing vocals form a good ensemble. 

In the first half of the album the musical emphasis is on Fidolin‘s violin. The song ‘Backpfeifensonate in d-Moll’ is an instrumental song in which he’s completely put in the spotlight. This song looks like a musical sequel to the previous song ‘Kneipenschlägerei’, which stands out because it has a western sound.

Somewhere towards the middle of ‘Perlen vor die Säue’ something strange happens. Knasterbart calls it a tear-jerking moment called ‘Bambis Mama’ and I can understand why. You hear babies cry for their mommy, musically it’s a very dramatic song. In the bridge it becomes clear with the gunshots there’s a war going on. This song contrasts so much with the light and danceable songs of the album, that in my opinion it doesn’t fit in at all. ‘Gossenglocken’ and ‘Herzchen im Schnee’ are also calm songs, but they fit better in the album. That last one is about a peculiar love/hate relationship with Christmas.

Musically ‘Perlen vor die Säue’ is a very varied album. In ‘Ringelpiez am Kiez’ Knasterbart added a harpsichord, in ‘Muss-ketier’ they added a tambourine. In the second part of the album you can also hear different kind of flutes in some songs. ‘Leich mich ein’ is a summer song with the seagulls and the washland on the beach. And when you think you’ve heard everything, Holze and Fummelfips decided to sing as women in ‘Geboren um zu Sterben’. 

I really like Knasterbart after hearing ‘Perlen vor die Säue’. It’s a very varied album with some songs so different that they don’t really fit in. I know for sure these guys are having fun in what they do and you can hear that too, so I guess their CD is supposed to be as crazy as Knasterbart itself.

Release date: November 29, 2019
Label: Napalm Records
Tracklist:

1. Perlen für die Säue
2. Ringelpiez am Kiez
3. Kneipenschlägerei
4. Backpfeifensonate in d-Moll
5. Bambis Mama
6. Gib dich auf
7. Laich mich ein
8. Muss-ketier
9. Gossenglocken
10. Tanzt nach meiner Pfeife
11. Geboren um zu Sterben
12. Herzchen im Schnee