JANKA - Unter Palmen

6 songs
21:45 minutes
***** ***
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Janka is a recently formed four-piece by musicians coming from Germany's most important musical cities, namely Berlin and Hamburg. The opener Noch und immer und für hints already at a trendy direction. The songs are too hard for pop and too soft for rock. It's always important for Janka to write beautiful melodies. Lots of songs also have a more melancholic touch. Especially the opener and Fenster zum Hof show some parallels to Blumfeld, Germany's pioneer of new melancholic pop music. The hardest song is Pierrot Le Fou with its noisy guitars.

To name another big city in this review, all songs were written by singer Thomas Liman in Paris where he is studying. Irgendwo da draußen reflects the experience he has gathered in the French capital. The only more disappointing track is Hotel Torcy because it's just too soft compared to the rest of the EP.

So the final result is 5:1 in favour of Janka. This is a score the German national football team may only dream of. Janka show that German pop and rock music can still sound very fresh and refreshing. Although they are newcomers, the arrangements on the songs are absolutely professional. The album can be ordered for only 5 Euros on the band's website.