Album Review: EgoTherapie - Hope (2020)

Picture Credit: EgoTherapie

 EgoTherapie - Hope
Release: August 28. 2020
Label: selfrelease
Format: Digital
Length: 28:17
Genre: Singer Songwriter / Acoustic / Anti-Folk
Origin: Franconia, Germany

Since my last reviews on releases by EgoTherapie were written in German, I think a little re-introduction might be adequate. Lee played in plenty of Metal, Hardcore, Stoner Rock, etc band. His solo project went parallel to all those bands for quiate some time and it combined many of the musical influences Lee made in and outside the Anti-Folk / Singer Songwriter scene.
With close contact to the amiable weirdo collective Folk's Worst Nightmare EgoTherapie played shows in numerous venues, bars, cafés, precincts and living room, presenting his idiosyncratic mixture of Acoustic Rock and Metal, Anti-Folk and nihilism.
But enough for that, here's the newest release: "Hope".

"Hope" might be the darkest album EgoTherapie has released in recent times. Thus, joayful dadaism like the song 'Puppies on my Phone' are not to be found. Instead, Lee uses his dark sense of humour and lots of austere perspectives on the reality of recent times. And as you migt guess, the pandemic plays a certain role, but fortunately it is not foregrounded.
The ten tracks display a very personal reflection on contemporary times. Musical influences this time are mostly gloomy Anti-Folk, some Metal ('Dear Diary (To me you read like Diarrhea)'), Post Rock ('Distance II') or the pitch black Country Folk by Tom Waits ('Unsynchronized').
Unlike recent releases, Folk's Worst Nightmare are not featured as guests on this one. Instead, sabsomat did backing vocals on the tracks 'Pulse', 'Dear Diary (To me you read like Diarrhea)', 'Inner Tightening Strengthes' and 'Distance II'. 'Inner Tightening Strengthes' was also written by sabsomat, same as the lyrics on 'Distance II'.

With "Hope", Lee has releases his most self-refleted and probably his darkest (solo) album so far.
And here's something, I assume. The last track of the predecessing album "Not even that consistent" was a Trap/Eöectronica song and soon afterwards, the Electronica project Phobophon came up. As "Hope" ends with the Post Rock song 'Distance II', are we going to hear some Post Rock from Lee soon? I'd enjoy it!
Some last notes on this great release. I love it. My favourite tracks are 'Unsychronized', 'Sink Song' and 'Distance II'. And two tracks remind me of something. The bridge of 'Sink Song' has a similar atmosphere like Join Venture's 'Mein Dispo gehört mir', and 'Banks & Lobbies' reminds me of Hannes Wader's 'Heute hier, morgen dort'.

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