Vlimmer – XIIIIII (EP – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: Cold-wave, dream-pop.
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Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.
Background/Info: German artist –and label owner) Alexander Donat took off in November 2015 releasing a conceptual work of eighteen (!) EP’s about a young, damaged man in search of his own identity. This new EP is the sixteenth chapter in the series and features five new songs by Vlimmer.
Content: I’m used to saying Vlimmer moves into another direction –or at least integrates new influences, on each new EP. The common sound remains pretty dark/cold-wave like and definitely driven by the 80s. “XIIIIII” is for sure one of the darkest and maybe most tormented works I’ve heard in the series. It reminds me sometimes of the legendary records from 4AD –which comes mainly through at “Lebenswert”, but the work also reminds the legendary ‘Deutsche Neue Welle’.
+ + + : This EP is without a shadow of a doubt, one of my favorite from Vlimmer. The songs are diversified, but always touching ground with the 80s. They’re recovered with sadness and melancholia, the guitar playing awakening emotions by the listener, but I also like the more mysterious sounding “Taubheit” and the somewhat harder, last song “Kopfkante”.
– – – : I’m still convinced what Vlimmer is only missing to get a wider recognition is a ‘hit’-song! This EP features cool tracks, but not that kind of hit you’ll keep in mind.
Conclusion: This is for sure the right EP to get more familiar with the work of Vlimmer –and maybe inciting you to purchase the entire records from this conceptual series. Vlimmer never stops composing and taking me by surprise.
Best songs: “Taubheit”, “Kopfkante”, “Perplexität”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/VlimmerMusic
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist
About Vlimmer
Vlimmer is the shoegaze/darkwave project of German artist and label owner Alexander Leonard Donat, launched in November 2015 with a conceptual series of eighteen EPs about a young, damaged man in search of his own identity. “XIIIIII”, released through Blackjack Illuminist Records, is the sixteenth chapter, followed the same day by the seventeenth, “XIIIIIII”.
After completing the 18-EP series in 2020, Donat took Vlimmer into a post-punk direction with the debut album “Nebenkörper” (2021), followed by “Menschenleere” (2022) and “Zerschöpfung” (2023).
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
