Eigene Wege is an unabashedly conformist and tame pop album, but its one major saving grace is that it is really catchy -- and this is more important that it seems to be, considering the swarm of unobtrusive records released by bands (including German ones) that think being bland is all right if you sing sweet things about love.
Münchener Freiheit avoid this pitfall: sure, they ransack the '80s and revel in clichés, but you only need to hear most of these songs once to remember them. And the clichés themselves are not bad, actually -- the opening song, for instance, almost sounds like a mid-period
Rush or maybe
Gin Blossoms, being a prime power pop number with a good balance of dynamics and romantics, a sunny mood, a catchy beat, and an adorable chorus hook. It also establishes the main sound of
Eigene Wege, but the band expands it over the course of the record, drifting off into ballads on every second song, borrowing from
the Beatles now and then ("Wenn die Sonne Ruft") and even going for some groove on "Sexy und Durchtrieben." Attempts to sound hip are slightly embarrassing, because the band is clearly too old for this -- they began in 1980, after all, and their delicate vocal harmonies sound targeted at fortysomethings, not the late-2000s teenagers growing up on
Lady Gaga and
Christina Aguilera. But, although
Eigene Wege is basically Eurovision music (
Münchener Freiheit actually took part in the contest in the '90s), it's good Eurovision music -- sappy, safe, and derivative, but also shamelessly tugging at the heartstrings in just the right way to be forgiven for all shortcomings -- at least, while it plays. ~ Alexey Eremenko