Say Y - Neverending Lights

I don't usually review anything pre 2009 unless personally requested to. This is the exception to the rule; on strength of a personal recommendation, I got in touch with Torsten Pankow and Nancy Lehmann and asked them to send me a copy of this disc.

Say Y is another statistic in the horde of German Synthpop acts (You could extend that to say German Electronic acts, to be completely honest). A 41 second intro kicks off this disc, and it does little for me except make me wonder what the music sounds like.

'The Real World' reminds me instantly of Caisaron, and it's the typical German Synthpop CD! A Female vocalist serenades the listener with the Male part of the equation performing a more baritone backing vocal; all of this being met with some enjoyable Synth. The difference here, is that for an undetermined reason, Say Y makes this very interesting indeed.

I'll be honest, as if you hadn't already realised, I have reservations about this act, I've heard so many groups doing the exact same thing that I just don't expect the renaissance. It's refreshing however, to hear the duo singing in fluent English, and their pronounciations and accents are spot on - there's no forced English, the German accents don't penetrate the vocals, marking a rare occurrence indeed. I just don't think I can endure 18 tracks - it takes a very special album to pull that off.

If forced to make a comparison, Say Y sounds like Blutengel on a musical level, but without the over-inflated faggery and obsession with breasts.

Track titles like 'November Pain' give a respectful nod to contemporary classics, yet also provide their own tongue in cheek personality. Without highlighting too many tracks in particular, this CD contains far more to compliment then to criticise - vocally, both Torsten and Nancy are blessed, and musically, the compositions are gentle and enduring. I just haven't found that reason to escalate this to its own podium. Nov 06 2011