Beatsteaks

And one more video... to a Berlin song. By the Beatsteaks from Berlin. Unfortunately, this one was never released as a single and there is absolutely no video with the studio audio version. But there's a video from a concert in Amsterdam. And I just have to post it.

No, wait... gonna post a few more songs as well, actually. The Beatsteaks really are quite an interesting German band, I think. Within Germany, they are one of the absolutely biggest bands.

What's quite interesting about them is that it's not really possible to tell what genre their music is.
They started as a pure punk band. After having released two albums in the late 90s, they got signed by Epitaph Records, home of US West Coast Punk Rock, and they were even on the Vans Warped Tour across the USA, where they apparently got quite a lot of attention because of their high energy performances.
The 2002 album "Living Targets" on Epitaph followed, featuring the first minor hits "Summer" and "Let Me In".

Next came the breakthrough album in Germany, "Smack Smash", in 2004. The first time I saw the video for the lead single "Hand In Hand" my thought was: "Amazing! This is actually the same league as The Hives. These guys have the songs, and they're as fun and entertaining as The Hives. Needs to be exported!" I went straight to the record store and bought the single. Next came "I Don't Care As Long As You Sing", and the whole country seemed to love the band.

After "Smack Smash" they decided to experiment a bit more with their sound, as the follow-up album "Limbo Messiah" from 2007 featured some indie and electronic sound as well, and even almost soulish sound with falsetto vocals. Very good decision, as far as I'm concerned. Not being that punk band staying with their trademark sound all the way, getting boring. But actually daring to do something different, to try out things and be creative. And they succeeded with it and stayed relevant.

On the latest album "Boombox" (2011), there is punk rock, new wave, ska and more experimental stuff. Like on all of their albums - in my opinion - not all of it is just great, but a few of the songs are really good.

So, check out a few of the videos below. It's the Beatsteaks' evolution. Or a bit of it, at least.

Also, make sure to check out the second last video. It's the final 2 minutes of a Beatsteaks concert in Camden, London. And it tells a lot about the band. I never thought it would be possible for a German band to do anything like that and do it in London. Whether it's singer Arnim crowdsurfing on a guitar case or ending a concert like in that video - putting up a good show is a big part of the Beatsteaks' charm.

Yes, and in the end, you find the song I originally intended to post, the amateur video of "Let's See" from an Amsterdam concert. Wait for the organ at 1:56 there!