Blutengel

"Tränenherz" (Album, 2011)

Though there's plenty of singing in English (by both male and female) on Blutengel's 7th album, I suspect this is likely to shift significantly more units in their native Germany than here in the UK; as it is a fine example of the smooth electronic pop (albeit here tinged with darkwave/Gothic overtones) that the Germans do so well and the Germans just keep on buying. Production duties have been handed over to José Alvarez-Brill most famous for his work for fellow countrymen De/Vision and Wolfsheim and that only cements the style. True to form it has the polished finish one would expect. They call this 'vampire pop' apparently - which is ironic since this definitely lacks bite.

Label Out Of Line have gone as far as releasing no less than three versions of Tränenherz. In addition to the regular (15 track) edition reviewed here, there's a limited edition 2 disc version with 24 tracks and deluxe box set that, in addition to the previous two discs, includes a 100 page photo book and a 12 track third disc entitled Sign of The Zodiac. For me the two best tracks on the regular edition by far are the two instrumentals Tränenherz - Prologue and Tränenherz - Outro that open and close proceedings. So whilst the thought of listening to 24 vocal tracks really isn't something I'd want to dwell on, I'd definitely be up for hearing the third disc in the box set. 5/10

Rob Dyer (April 2011)