My friends from YASMINE TOURIST have sent me three tracks which are taken from “The Blue Moon” EP which will be uploaded on MySpace as final version on Monday, September 14th. I know these guys since my school days, especially mastermind Dominik Gerwald, so it was a pleasure to write something about their new songs. The version I had a chance to listen to is still the unmastered version. But anyway it sounds almost perfect due to Johnny Park from Submarien who was acting as recording engineer.

The first track is the title track “Blue Moon” with a very positive attitude – just guitars, voice and brushes. This is an approach to country music which I did not expect but without loosing the alternative music basis. The lyrics are very encouraging, the steel guitars give the feeling of freedom. To the end the song is somehow getting to a climax. First there are hardly drums but in the end there is a groovy and driving rythm and a piano / steel guitar solo with a typical country ending. “Pour yourself” is quite different with a very unique vocal line which is emphasized by a piano from time to time. Yearning lyrics are expressed by the music – again becoming more and more heavy with even electric guitars at the end and uprising vocals. But this time the song has a kind of break which ends in a great guitar solo before the song tranquilly dies away. The last song with the amazing title “Neon coloured” is spreading a melancholic mood with just a little percussion in the back. This could be a soundtrack to a Tarantino movie. I can see a man walking a road – lonely but still with strength. Again, the song is escalating. After a calm break which is making room for sentimental vocals, kettledrums are dominating over underlaying ambient synthesizers and voices whispering in the background. Crescendo – and it is over…

Conclusion: A unique alternative / songwriter band is coming the way with really outstanding piano parts, steel guitars and some unique vocal lines. So if you are interested in quite unconventional alternative music you should check out their MySpace page on Monday.

YASMINE TOURIST on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/yasminetourist

I will put up another review fom this genre the next week – FLORIAN OSTERTAGs “The Constant Search” (Jens from Maria Records was nice enough to send it to me the last days).