Alex Braun – Chasing Cars (EP – Echozone)
Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Distain’s core member and singer Alex Braun strikes back with his second solo-production under his own name. One year after “Eiskalt” (2018) he moves on to cover some famous hits.
Content: “Chasing Cars” features 7 songs so in the end we might speak about a mini-album. Snow Patrol (“Chasing Cars”), Kim Wilde (“Cambodia”), The Shakepears Sister (“Hello”), Depeche Mode (“Somebody”), Harold Faltermeyer (“Axel F”) and Karl The Beetle (“Karl Der Käfer”) have been covered while there also is a remix of “Pinocchio” (that was originally featured at “Eiskalt”) by Elektrostaub.
The songs are easily recognizable, clearly transposed into a pop approach and confirming the vocals’ skills of Alex Braun.
+ + + : Especially both debut songs, “Chasing Cars” and “Cambodia” are well-crafted –and songs on which Alex Braun’s voice is absolutely phenomenal. It remains a challenge covering famous hits and pop-anthems from the past, but Alex Braun revisited them with style. It also is a way for younger music lovers to (re)discover some of these ‘lost’ songs.
– – – : A few songs can’t totally convince me, but especially “Hello” is not the best exponent from this EP.
Conclusion: Alex Braun seems to enjoy this ‘concept’ of cover songs. I can’t say that I was totally convinced, but there are a few cool songs among the tracklist.
Best songs: “Cambodia”, “Chasing Cars”.
Rate: (6½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/alex.braun.313
Label: www.echozone.de / www.facebook.com/EchozoneMusic
About Alex Braun
Alex Braun is the singer of German electro-pop band !Distain, whose most recent album at the time, “Farewell To The Past”, appeared on Echozone in 2018. Braun launched a solo career the same year with the covers EP “Eiskalt”, followed in January 2020 by the second solo EP, “Chasing Cars”. He went on to release his solo debut album, “ReCover”, on ScentAir Records in 2022, and a second album, “Dreamland”, on Infacted in 2024, produced with Gerrit Thomas of Eisfabrik / Funker Vogt.
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