New albums

These four Styrian bands are rocking into the fall

Candlelight Ficus presents a new album

(Bild: Reithofer Media)

New indie rock from Styria: Marta, Johnny Batard, Candlelight Ficus and Ratrock Tot Sint Jans are releasing new albums these days. The "Krone" has listened to them for you.

Ten years ago, hardly any other local band was celebrated as frenetically as Marta (music: Paul Plut and Günther Paulitsch, lyrics: Julia Hager). Marta served up two albums full of mangy, stomping rock numbers. Then the band went quiet and Plut and Paulitsch pursued new projects. Now Marta is back and has returned with "shipwrecks".

The songs tell of the tenderness of relationships ("full of laughter", "wormholes") and the coarseness of capitalism ("raiffeisen bank international") as well as of quarrelling with Catholicism ("altar boy") and the fragility of life ("dementia"). This album balances wonderfully between rocking rage and balladic resignation.

Johnny Batard: "Johnny's Jacuzzi"
Fans of Johnny Batard (Johann Zuschnegg's stage name) didn't have to wait quite so long for more. In 2023, he delivered one of the albums of the year with "Calimero". He impressed with his edgy rock, which he served up in a wild mix of German and English.

Nothing fundamental has changed on the new album, but with "Johnny's Jacuzzi" (Post Office Records) he is taking a step towards diversity: the album is a wonderful collection of wildly mixed styles and thoughts.

Candlelight Ficus: "Music"
Musically, the Graz-based band Candlelight Ficus takes a completely different tack: the twelve-piece has been focusing on funk-pop with earthy grooves and catchy melodies for years, taking clear aim at role models such as James Brown and Marvin Gaye and yet cooking up its own soul soup.

The new album is called "Music", and that is exactly where the focus of the album lies: the focus is on lyrics that neither hurt nor confuse and never steal the limelight from the music.

Ratrock Tot Sint Jans: "Gotik Junkyard"
Patrick Möstl, alias Ratrock Tot Sint Jans, is also a fixed starter on the Styrian indie scene. In addition to his work with the combo Tiger Family, he has also been attracting attention for years with wonderfully headstrong solo albums. Now, with "Gotik Junkyard" (pumpkin records), he presents his seventh album.

On this album, he brings melancholic folk rock to the fore as well as epic country sounds and also sprinkles one or two juicy pinches of irony into the otherwise often too dry Americana landscape.