The exquisite Honeysuckle kicks off with smoky songstress Suzie Kerstgens proclaiming, “This is for everyone.” And truth be told, the part English, part German album is. Eighties nostalgia seekers will revel in the New Order and Faint smatterings of “Gold” and the krautrocky “My Secret.”
“Two Questions” is an ethereal bopper that borrows from Air and “Our Movie” is a lawsuit-worthy (but still palatable) clone of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” Instrumentalists Sten Servaes and Tom Deininger are amazingly adept at cavorting through one genre to the next, embracing the overdriven sound of alt-rock on “Not Even Ten Horses,” then crescendoing into an Arcade Fire extravagance in “One Wish Left.”
The language barrier is hardly a hindrance; Klee is a band that offers that kind of giddy transcendence for which most musicians aim. Kerstgens’ voice alone (a nymph-like combo of Eartha Kitt and Kay Hanley) is cause to explore the group’s back catalogue.
And how irresistible is a non-English-speaking band that namedrops Billy Bragg and Nick Drake in their ballads? Honeysuckle is a sweet addition for any fan of Belly, Metric, or even Nena of “99 Luftballons” fame.
– Melissa Bobbit
Klee (Minty Fresh)