Nine To Five (EP 2022)

The Cycling Shrimp

minimalistic cocktail party music with a twist of lemon, singer-songwriter

Everything floats. Passes by. Goes Away. At least moves. In the world of a special creature, things are possible, someone other could not even think of. Or have you dreamed about sailing on a paper boat across the river on a highway bridge?

Basically for The Cycling Shrimp water on the street would be even better, like on the back cover of „Nine To Five“. Not that there weren’t waterway crosses in real like near Magdeburg. For the appealing front cover, maybe it helps that the shrimp is armored like a knight with his carapace, to be bulletproof in the kind of Western city. Bordering on the wasteland, it associates the Aral Sea and other way around Villa Epecuén.

Those collages like the ones of Krooked Tongue keep inside five songs, starting with „Courage“. Wether it’s intended or not, it feels like upspeed sibling of „Cloud Bed“ from the precursor „Cocktail Party“. Talking about standard jobs, it spreads a relaxed flow, plus it includes a second deep voice.

Song two takes us out for a „Date Night“ with a catchy refrain, with a rhythm bringing up Onk Lou as well as Eddie Vedder and at some point even a little Pink Floyd. „Estelle“ with its Synth-Pop impact, we were already introduced during the Live Session stream. It’s the alias for a neighbor, on the record spoken by special guest @_a.domani_. At least the neighbor’s name is not Klopek.

The smile that can be heard might has just happened as well as it comes naturally. Another very classic thought comes with „Paper On A Desk“, with a harmony like The Who. Composer Philipp Timmelmayer first wrote it for his earlier project Red Bus Airline. Maybe the EP’s highlight comes with the closer „Marionette“, again with fine arranged instruments and melody.

All of the richness of detail, like the discreet but warm bass, transitions and soft tones been mastered by Alexander Lausch. Extending the world of The Cycling Shrimp and make life even grow on the dry desert ground.