ROGER KLUG -
MAMA, MAMA, ICH BIN IN DEM LA LA LAND / TOXIC & 15 OTHER LOVE SONGS

First impressions are always important & the first impression I've gotten about Roger Klug's music is that it's quite amazing & deserves all the attention it can get. His US label sent 2 of his albums for review & I'm sure as hell glad they did. There's an astounding number of great songs here, with the first album being more on the conventional side of things, the second being a real evolution of sounds.
First up, with the Mama, Mama album & we're treated to some excellent material, this one coming from 1995 & having a reasonably traditional rock backing with some superbly crafted guitars driving each song along for the most part, though other instruments make themselves felt on the odd few tracks.
One of the most intriguing tracks here isn't actually a full song, it's an eccentric little snippet called "Ode To A Fiancee's Answering Machine". Of the proper songs, picks for me included the outstanding opener "I'd Love To Make You Change Your Mind", "Sweat The Poison Out" & "Shaken Not Stirred".
The second album is actually from 1997, but could easily have been released yesterday the sounds are so timeless. Influences on this album are many, but a lot of the songs here are reminiscent for me of Elvis Costello, XTC & perhaps even Ben Folds Five.
The opening track "Toxic", which is the namesake of the album, is a brilliantly worded piece with some very intelligent lyrics. This album takes a different approach to the first, with many more instruments like string sections, piano & others making appearances, with one of my favourite tracks of all being a rather eccentric song stylistically, called "Things Change".
Other great tracks of note include "She's A Singer", the very Elvis Costello-ish "On The Way To His Wedding" & the excellent closing number"When We're Old". All up, both albums here showcase an amazing talent who I'm surprised hasn't had a very much bigger profile than he already has.This is indeed essential listening.