Vienna’s Bernhard Fleischmann brings an interesting mix of indietronica to his latest, Angst Is Not a Weltanschauung. The Morr Music staple artist shifts away from the grooves of his earlier work for a low-key and altogether darker effect. However, he still varies it up, from vocal-focused to instrumental, and stripped to bigger in sound, though sometimes gets a little too indulgent in length.
Angst is strongest at its start, with openers “Hello” and “24.12.” melding seamlessly together. The somber “Hello” is a remarkable start, with backwards sounds lain behind Fleischmann’s clear vocals. “24.12.” takes that promise and builds upon it, not only flowing out of “Hello”, but the introduction of a female voice mid-stream is pitch-perfect. In the middle, “In Trains” brings a foreboding echo, while on “Still See You Smile” there’s even a bit of twinkle in the sadness. Finisher “Even Your Glasses Miss Your Eyes” brings a beautiful harmony to close out the record.
Fleischmann also went heavy with the instrumentals, and while the indietronic-tech of “Last Time We Met At a T&TT Concert”, “Playtime”, and “Even Your Glasses Miss Your Eyes” all stand up with his sung pieces, they do all go on a bit long – the final two play back-to-back at over fourteen minutes (and there’s a hidden instrumental track after “Glasses”). Meanwhile, “Phones, Machines, and King Kong” is almost nothing but voice – and a nasal, talk/sing one at that. The sympathetic to the great ape number is certainly different and unusual, but goes on too long for such an oddity, even though the melodic instrumentation grows by the end.
Even with its variety, Angst Is Not a Weltanschauung (German for ‘world view’) is still an overall record, not a collection of tracks. B. Fleischmann’s own Weltanschauung comes out through his music, long or short.
