Do you like music that will make you happy? Do you want to head bang and pogo and raise a glass to your mates? Do you like singing at the top of your lungs in sheer unadulterated glee? Then Toxpack’s offering of Zwanzig. Tausend Volt (Napalm Records) is the album you have been waiting for. Zwanzig. Tousend Volt is fun, light-hearted, fast paced and utterly engaging.

The opening song, ‘Gekommen um zu bleiben’ is a post-apocalyptic punk western instrumental a la Tarantino; don’t think, just enjoy. There is a wonderful comfortable feeling Zwanzig. Tausend Volt evokes. The listener may not understand the language, but they’ve heard the sound before and that adds enjoyment to listening. Take the title track: it’s easy to sing along with, and can be done within the 150 seconds of the song. It’s insidious how awesome this song is. ‘Wecke den Kampfgeist’ has shades of Soundgarden‘s Down on the Upside (A&M Records) songs. This tune and a few others have that Seattle nineties grunge sound mixed expertly with good old fashioned punk rock.

Toxpack is super tight, there are no wasted notes. Everything about the songs just fit together. Major kudos to drummer Zoppel as his double bass drum is constantly thumpin’. “Totgeblaubt, doch neugeboren” is bombastic and is the first song where one could clearly hear Stephan’s bass lines as they are distinctly different from the guitar melody.

There is an eighties / early nineties new wave feel to some of the songs. It’s faint, but you can feel it. So much of the album makes you want to get up and dance or bang your head. Toxpack are masters of composition and so much of Zwanzig. Tousend Volt makes the listener happy. The album ends like you would end a party, slow, sweet, and somber. ‘Himmelwarts’ is a piano-laden tome to which you raise a glass to friends near and far; here and not.

There is a sense of camaraderie on the album that translates to the listener. Toxpack’s Zwanzig. Tousend Volt is the perfect party album, great for listening to in the car and for long road trips and an album you can listen to from start to finish and enjoy every single song.

Buy the album here: https://label.napalmrecords.com/toxpack

7 / 10

VICTORIA ANDERSON