Although Dada (Ante Portas) have not re-invented themselves with SUPERBIXEN, at least they have produced once again the best album of their career. Which was not exactly a matter of course. After all, following the huge success of their last album Seasons Change in 2004 (which shot up to 3rd position in the Swiss charts) and following their more or less triumphal tour of sold-out clubs in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, they were clearly under some pressure.The band's response was not to yield to external pressure. Firstly, internally, the five guys from Lucerne recorded 46 songs in their own studio on a kind of pre-production basis. If Pee and Luc penned the majority of the new compositions, it is clear that Lukas and Mitch are now catching up. Then, in the course of long discussions, they all agreed on the 13 titles to be definitively recorded. "After we had converted our new rehearsal room into a small studio and after that pre-production phase, we all went on holiday with 46 songs in the bag", Lukas recalls. "When we got back, each of us had compiled a different album! So the ultimate selection of 13 titles from all that song material was a difficult but creative process. At the end, we each had to give up a few favourites but were also able to keep a few in", Pee concludes.Now in their eighth year, the band's line-up has not altered. Nor did they change their producer. Andreas Ahlenius (Dileva, Saybia), the man at the mixer on Seasons Change also sat in on keyboards this time round. If Seasons Change was infused with a certain melancholy and lovesickness, SUPERBIXEN presents a wider mix of styles. Most of the songs have a strong uptempo beat, partly with a touch of gloomy 1980s new wave. Yet fans will also find some of those exquisite ballads that have conquered their affections. Similarly, with Head Back Home, Dada (Ante Portas) take a stroll down folk-rock alley. "That might sound a bit sort of laboured, pretentious even, but I reckon that SUPERBIXEN with its stylistic variety and ominous undertones somehow reflects the uncertainties and inner conflicts of our times", says Luc. "Not that we planned it that way", Pee chips in before going on to claim that the new album is, in his opinion, the best thing musically he has ever worked on.All in all, the album thrives on wonderful songs, fine craftsmanship and not least the tension between two different types of guitarists. SUPERBIXEN (Danish for "mini-supermarket", by the way) tackles a wide range of topics: from bargain books and comics to CDs, sweets and porn. Yet there are also a number of dark abysses between all the harmony both musically and textually. And many of the songs deal with love and all its consequences. Or maybe not. As, for example, with the first single Save My Name. A zombie appears in Head Back Home and, in the song, Jack Bauer, Dada (Ante Portas) pay tribute to the heroes of TV's 24. From the fifth series onwards, apparently, Kiefer Sutherland will be keeping his promise and using Jack Bauer as the signature tune to the show, or so says Lucas's uncle.
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