Silbermond

Silbermond is a German pop/rock band from Bautzen, Saxony, formed in 1998, and fronted by Stefanie Kloss (vocals). The other members are Thomas Stolle (guitar) Johannes Stolle (bass) and Andreas Nowak (drums). They are part of a recent wave of female-fronted German rock bands that sing entirely in German, including bands like Wir Sind Helden, Luxuslärm, Juli, and others. German is a difficult language to appreciate in rock if you don’t speak it, but there’s a lot of great artists out there that you’ll miss if you don’t try. This band is definitely one of them. Silbermond is pretty popular in their homeland, and have released four successful albums to date. Their sound began as punky alternative rock, but has evolved into more mainstream pop/rock. Silbermond, like all female-fronted bands I love that sing in languages I don’t speak, offers big riffs, hooks aplenty, and, at the very least, a cute lead singer. Their name, by the way, translates as ‘Silver Moon.’

Silbermond‘s debut, “Verschwende deine Zeit,” was released in 2004, and included a top 5 German hit, “Symphonie,” which was covered by English singer Sarah Brightman(!) as “Symphony.” But, like the rest of their albums to come, this one featured several punky rockers (“Mach’s dir Selbst (Bloodtype R),” the title track, “Du und ich”), some mid-tempo ballads (“Durch die Nacht,” “Letzte Bahn, “Ohne dich”), and a few heavier alt-rockers (“Nicht verdient,” “An dich,” “Immer am Limit”). Watch some videos from this album here:

“Laut Gedacht” was released in 2006, and included, this time, a #1 German hit, “Das Beste.” Like “Symphonie,” it’s a piano ballad, but “Unendlich” was a much better, and much longer, ballad on this release. But, it also had punky rockers (“Meer Sein,” “Zu Weit”), alt-rockers (“In Zeiten Wie Diesen,” “Wenn Die Anderen”), and a whole lot of mid-tempo ballads (“Das Ende Vom Kreis,” “So Wie Jetzt,” “Endlich,” “Ich Wünsch Dir Was”). All good. Watch some videos from this album here:

“Nichts passiert” was released in 2009, and included, again, a #1 German hit, “Irgendwas bleibt.” That was a good mid-tempo ballad, but “Die Liebe lasst mich nicht” is just as good. This album didn’t have any punky rockers, but it still had some excellent alt-rockers (“Alles Gute,” “Keine Angst”), some mid-tempo ballads (“Weg fur immer”), and some pop/rockers (“Ich bereue Nichts,” “Bist du dabei”). And, “Nichts mehr,” was an alt-rocker that had a Nirvana vibe. Watch some videos from this album here:

“Himmel Auf,” Silbermond‘s most recent album, was released in 2012.

Now, we all know Kings of Leon‘s huge hit “Use Somebody,” right? Well, the most recognizable part of that song is the whoa-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh‘s in the chorus. And ever since that song saturated the pop culture, I’ve heard similar whoa-oh‘s in dozens of other songs. Like, for instance, “Unter Der Oberfläche,” by Silbermond. Awesome song but, sadly, no official video. So, find it, listen and tell me I’m wrong. Anyway, this album has a bigger sound and a lot of great tracks, like “Es Geht Weiter,” “Teil Von Mir,” “Irgendwo in Der Mitte,” the acoustic ballad “Weisse Fahnen,” and the super catchy “Das Gute Gewinnt” (which also utilizes those whoa-oh‘s). Watch some videos from this album here: