Fuchs - Too Much Too Many (2023)

There is such a special subspecies in our society: completely normal-looking people between 50 and 70 who are doing completely normal jobs and then suddenly reveal a musical talent in genres such as jazz, blues or progressive rock, which would have given them a place as a very bright star in the music sky at the right time, with the right label and marketing. The people you meet as a band in a music pub and after their performance you ask yourself the existential question of what talent is actually still worth. Introducing FUCHS from Germany. Debut album in 2012, sextet, led by secondary school teacher Hans-Jürgen Fuchs, who has already released four albums with his wife Ines in the 90s and early 2000s and can now boast five more releases with FUCHS, including the current "Too Much Too Many".
"Too Much Too Many" is one of the opulent list of albums of small underground passion projects dedicated to classic oldschool progressive rock, which I was able to get to know in my time at the Rock Garage so far. Not 500 fans on Facebook, but two to three zeros earned at the end.
What is increasingly impressive about the 70 minutes of playing time: "Too Much Too Many" is in every respect the most flawless representative of this kind, which I can name even after a long consideration. The sound is great, very clear and warm. Each instrument is defined and as present as it should be, the vocals are perfectly distinguishable even if they take place in the call-and-response procedure, the choirs sound wonderful, electronic elements are on point and nothing annoys or stands out negatively. A big compliment for this sound.
It's no different with the band's performance. Every member really has something on their plate and works with a level of authenticity that would be unattainable if one tried to copy this style without having to deal with handmade music like this for decades.
And compositionally? Well, with bands like FUCHS, in addition to all the quality they provide, there are some parts that don't quite fit, a little embarrassing idea, a too cheesy passage or the like. Not so on "Too Much Too Many". It's hard for me to believe this myself, but from the first to the last minute, the composition work is just serious and feels deeply right.
And what is offered is a clear case of "Difficult to compose, easy to listen to". The record is calm progressive / art rock, which does not attach importance to hardness, but on the other hand to good melodies, exciting set-ups, intuitive integration of various instruments and sound elements, emotions and progressive elements, if they offer themselves. This is the old school of handmade music, in which the drummer still knows that you can't just hit the middle with a snare, and the composer that a song may well have a three–minute intro - even if Master Spotify wants to tell us that the song must already be over by that time in order to be good.

Conclusion:
Yes, the statement "This is still real music" reveals more about the person who meets you than about the thematized music. But no matter. "Too Much Too Many" is still real music, with knowledge and love in terms of songwriting, handling the instruments and sound, and with disregard for the digitalization-related norms that make current mainstream music so often toothless and heartless. And an important reminder of what kind of gold can be found if you just check out what the normal secondary school teacher from the neighborhood is doing in his rehearsal room. Maybe something very special!