No Need to Be Lonesome is not the kind of album one would have expected
Martin Siewert to release in 2004. Very little in his recent work with
Efzeg or
Trapist could have hinted at this boisterous, beat-heavy, happy-go-lucky album. Without selling out to the club crowd or giving up on sonic experiments,
Siewert has easily produced his most accessible album. Newcomers will find it palatable (although far removed from the mainstream), with a certain likeness in spirit to
Fennesz'
Venice or
Oren Ambarchi's
Grapes from the Estate, although more rhythmical. Listeners acquainted with his previous work will definitely feel the shock. Then, after two or three listens, one can only submit to the pretty themes, the driving beats, and the intelligent writing.
Siewert handles all guitars, bass, keyboards, electronics, and programming on three of these five pieces. "Just When We Thought It Was Safe" is the shakiest piece, its suite-like development lacking some unity or purpose. "Attraktor" and "Any Other Way to Go?" are danceable tunes, the former a punchy, dense six-minute cut. The latter goes through a number of moods and follows a build-up curve, but seem to take too much time to get where it is heading. The guitar still occupies an important role in
Siewert's music, often present in three, four, or five layers at a time, but synths take most of the lead voices, adding a pleasant naïve electro-pop touch (à la
Felix Kubin). On "No Need to Be Lonesome," the multi-instrumentalist is joined by
Trapist drummer
Martin Brandlmayr. The track clocks in at close to 19 minutes and features moments of great aesthetic clarity, but again, its last quarter is overstretched. The highlight is found in "Valentine," where
Siewert's talents are supplemented by
Patrick Pulsinger (on "super-modulated bass"),
Necks drummer
Tony Buck, and
Polwechsel bassist
Werner Dafeldecker. Resolutely upbeat, the piece will put a smile on anyone's face as long as the aesthetic shock created by this album has had time to subside. Whether
Siewert will persist in this new direction remains to be seen, but even if
No Need to Be Lonesome turned out to be a one-shot attempt, it is convincing enough that it shouldn't be judged as a case of overindulgence.