If Two Worlds Kiss

    1987 has to be my favorite year of music; it is by complete coincidence that my first two posts are about albums from this year. I wanted to talk about their debut album here as I named my blog after this band. 

    I first got into this album when I had the opportunity to see them while studying abroad in Berlin this past summer... an opportunity I regretfully fumbled. Hint: if you see once-in-a-lifetime tickets, no matter how far in advance, BUY them!!! I waited until we were in Germany and of course they sold out like hot cakes. Those $40 tickets slipped through my fingers like grains of sand and I will eternally kick myself for it. Even the old record shops were plum out of records by Pink Turns Blue. Despite being German, this band stuck to singing in English, which ultimately hurt their efforts at securing support from a label. I think this may have prevented them from having the same acclaim as other German bands like Xmal Deutshland. 

    It still hits back in the States, but it was an utter treat to sink my teeth into this album for the first time while in Berlin. Sonically, it captures the crisp angst of a cloud covered city once segmented in half. Anyway, this is a delightful gothic post punk album with absolute bangerrrsss. I think in some circles it classifies as darkwave, and in that case this is my favorite darkwave band haha.

FUN FACT!!!!

The name of this band is actually taken from a Hüsker Dü song "Pink Turns to Blue". Despite the umlauts, Hüsker Dü is a punk band from America. 

i coldly stare out

    This is the opening track to this album and it is insanely catchy in a melancholic and bleak kind of way. The plucky yet brooding introduction is all I needed to hear to know this would be a new obsession of mine. The singer, Mic Jogwer, has this pathetic and sad quality to his vocals that is deeply resonant. His tone simultaneously feels pleading and resigned. I love when his voice cracks or fries, it makes the song very immersive. The grounding bassline beats onward throughout the song, with breaks for atmospherically somber guitar riffs in between the verse and chorus... but that doesn't give it justice!!!  Just listen to it already if you haven't. Good for overcast and windy or sprinkly days. 

After all (+)

    What a perfect follow up from the previous song. It is more upbeat, but the band maintains its signature bleak tone. I think having this song in between the incredible opening track and the next, even more upbeat, one makes it kind of recede into the background of the album as a whole but in a vacuum this song fucks hard. It reminds me of a failed relationship, with the most standout line delivery being "Is there anything I could do / I really lost my love to you / no excuses offered anyway," 

walking on both sides

    NOW GET UP AND DANCE!!!! That's how this song makes me feel. This is is probably the biggest earworm on the album (besides When It Rains, but we aren't there yet.) The lyrics are pretty relatable, with Mic Jogwer talking about juggling reality and desire or dreams in a variety of examples. Ultimately, it's important to walk both sides of reality and dreams. I think this message resonates with me the most out of this album. 

state of mind (+)

    The lyrics in this song are sooo juicy in my opinion. Because this is my own blog, I implore you to read them all. It's your job to listen to the dejected but resolute melody in accompaniment. Above all these are probably my favorite here: "Opened a grave where ideals have slept / I found them rotten I found them dead / I couldn't go back to where I came / The blood dripping down my fading sane," 

    I'd like to add Grace's two cents here: "When he repeats (the title) it feels like he says it almost in a detached manner as if it's a state of mind he's very familiar with. I'm not sure the full meaning of the song but I've gotten the feeling of confronting trauma or a darker past and staying with the feeling of it."

    I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but Jogwer's accent really adds a lot to the tone of the song. I don't know why but his inflections add this emotionally tortured quality that really resonates with me. Maybe it's just a state of mind. 

when it rains (+)

    The moment we've been waiting for! The drum and twinkly guitar pierces the transition into this song and this subtle instrumentation (I don't know the words for it but it sounds like a sparkly metallic cymbal-like psychedelic spiral) echoes. I love the opening lines "you have turned to the right frequency on your radio / now you listen to what I say, what I say to you." Okay... honestly I could write down so many lyrics to this freaking song. Angels crashing to the ground, fallouts in the sky, when it rains?! These are literally the immediately subsequent lyrics, IT'S GOLD! This song is purely on fire. All band mates were cooking with oil on this one. I love the buildup and payoff around 2:30, and the way his song sullenly slips into the chorus after crying out "time stands still, still tonight," 

    I don't know if it's just me, but if a song fits perfectly in a rainstorm, it instantly becomes a favorite. Off the top of my head I think of this song, House of Rain by the Merry Thoughts, and of course Disintegration and Plainsong by the Cure. So let it rain.

if two worlds kiss

    I lied; THIS is the moment we've been waiting for! The eponymous song of the album, this moody and pensive melody perfectly encapsulates the tone of the record. I just love the despairing imagery painted through the lyrics and delivery, punctuated by the plucky bassline beating throughout the song like rainfall. The breathy vocals feel like Jogwer breaking through tears. Honestly, this would've mad a great closer to the album, but we are only halfway through!

that was you (+)

    If each song on this album represented the stages of grief, we have just made it to anger. Yes, that is only the second stage of grief, but it feels like an interesting way to describe the grievous anger that permeates this song. As far as instrumentals go, I'm really font of the hauntingly magical final third of this song; it's all instrumental and it is so yummy. It's different from the rest of the album yet still very cohesive, which is perfect for the song following the title track in my opinion. Do not sleep on this song!

missing you

    You, you, you!!! This is honestly one of my top four standout songs on this album. It's probably the most uptempo song on the album too, which makes for excellent dance moves like flicky hands and hair tossing. Otherwise, I'd say this song is pretty straightforward. I'm missing you x400 <3

a moment sometimes

    If we were pitting the songs against each other for club playability, this would get my vote every time. The classic pulsing bassline, working in harmony with the lead guitar and drums, create this propulsive beat that will. not. quit!!!!! I like the line, "I don't mind to live in blue, waiting for the next days due," because it would make a good headline for my blog ahah. This is definitely an earworm. It's important to take those moments of reflection to clear your mind and keep yourself from being drowned by the stressors of the constantly turning world. The song ends on no certain terms, with the final lyric, "Have I kept a smile, from whom / A deathlike smile, oh I don't know...," epitomizing the detached yet unrelenting questions that Jogwer begs throughout the album.

when the hammer comes down

    This is the final song on the album arguably the best capstone to this album. This would also be a good song to play as the second to last song before the club closes. While repetitive, the lyrics tell an interesting story. People are often stuck in the monotonous and soul-sucking nature of jobs in whatever industry. I think the message of this song is exemplified through the lyrics, "You live for mass-production / You wanna speed up the action / You hammer on steel, you hammer on fame / When it hammers on you, will it be the same?"

Leave a comment!

What was your favorite song on this album?
Does any song remind you of another you've heard?
What album should I review next?