1000 Gram - Dances (2014)

How important is indie pop in 2014? At least one kilogram, that's what the German-Swedish band by their name 1000 Gram means and throws 500 grams of pop and rock into the scales.

As a child, Moritz Lieberkühn from Berlin rummaged through the record collection of his older brothers. He found records from Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Sebadoh, The Smiths and many others. He started a band at school and soon realized that music would be his lifeblood. After school he moved through the Berlin scene as a singer/songwriter. In 2007 he met his wife Anna Roxenholt (New Found Land) and went with her to Gothenburg, Sweden.

There Lieberkühn worked on songs, but didn't have an acoustic guitar at hand and years later rediscovered the electric guitar. It was, so to speak, the hour of birth of 1000 Gram and he kept looking for suitable comrades-in-arms. He found them in Alexander Simm, Jacob Öhrvall and Joel Wästberg. Eventually, the frontman met his old school friend Tilman Hopf, who agreed to produce the quartet's debut album. That's how "Ken Sent Me" saw the light of day in 2012 and strolled through the genres called Americana, West Coast rock, easy listening and guitar pop.

The current successor goes by the name “Dances” and in fact the eleven songs are easy to snort, nod your head or tap your feet to. Between indie pop and alternative rock, 1000 Gram scrape and rock the house, whereby the 80s New Wave scene has also left its mark. The older brothers' record collection resonates in all songs, although they hardly evoke associations with specific artists.

“Dances” definitely develops its own profile, although real unique selling points can hardly be identified. Rather, a positive overall impression remains, which comes about through the elements of harmonious songwiting, tight interaction and profound craftsmanship. In addition, Lieberkühn has a voice that transports emotions and can unfold its full effect on the somewhat quieter tracks ("Really Need Someone", "Talk Sense" and "Click Your Heels"). There is certainly still a lot of potential in this light-footed heavyweight called 1000 Gram.