Kapa Tult (Photo: Marco Sensche)

The young band Kapa Tult have mastered the art of lyrically capturing their generation’s lived reality. That they don’t mince their words was already proven by songs such as „Leck mich“ (“Lick me”) – essentially a farewell to an ex-boyfriend who, in one particular respect, is sorely missed: „Komm zurück für eine Nacht und dann leck mich.“ (“Come back for one night and then lick me.”)

With their current album „Immer alles gleichzeitig“ (“Always Everything at Once”), Kapa Tult maintain their clear stance while discovering a different sound. Moses Schneider’s production, sound and arrangement have moved further into the foreground. Schneider, who has worked with bands such as Tocotronic and the Beatsteaks, had a clear vision from the very beginning. Singer Inga explains that the sound of The Strokes’ first album served as both inspiration and reference for him: musically diverse, yet sonically cohesive. “That’s why I also believe our record works very well as an album – because the sound is so consistent.”

Stylistically, the band can be placed within the world of German-language indie pop – with a strong sense for melody and distinctive vocals. The influence of a German band like Wir sind Helden is unmistakable. At the same time, Kapa Tult explore new paths, incorporating electronic beats and rap vocals („Ich will ein Kind von mir“ / “I Want a Child of Myself”) or emphasising punk-rock elements („Ich bau ab“ / “I’m Falling Apart”). In the song „Ich versuch es wieder bei dir“ (“I’ll Try Again with You”), the band takes yet another turn, venturing into a different direction with jazzy drum and piano parts. Their quiet fondness for Latin American music is showcased here through the rattling quijada – a percussion instrument of Chilean origin made from a donkey’s jawbone. Originally, the song featured a longer salsa section, which ultimately did not make it onto the album. “But we still play it live quite often – we’re actually huge salsa fans”, admits Angi, who studied jazz drums and attended the Leipzig University of Music together with keyboardist Robin.

Over the course of the album, it becomes clear how central the keyboard is to Kapa Tult’s sound. A variety of effects are used: sometimes they recall an Atari computer from the 1980s, sometimes they evoke associations with a waddling duck („Machen, was man halt so macht“ / “Doing What You Just Do”), or quote the intro of Europe’s „Final Countdown“. The real difference, however, is made by the organ – at times carrying an entire song on its own. This is the case with the slow track „Niemand“ (“Nobody”), which puts into words the loss of a person and the silence that comes with it: „Und niemand redet jemals von sich aus über dich / Mit mir / Niemand redet jemals mit mir / Und ich will auch sowieso nicht drüber reden.“ (“And nobody ever talks about you on their own / With me / Nobody ever talks to me / And I don’t want to talk about it anyway.”)

A total of four tracks were released ahead of the album; early on, it was already clear that „Niemand“ (“Nobody”) would be one of the advance singles. “We knew that already at the very first rehearsal”, Angi reveals. Despite its sad theme, the band has succeeded in creating a beautiful song – with a chorus that sticks and stays, much like the memory of a loved one. Performed live, „Niemand“ seems destined to be the perfect song for a very last encore, sending the audience home with a lingering, never-ending “Oder” (“Right”): „Dass alles in mir vorbei ist / Wisst ihr doch eh / Oder? Oder? Oder? / Und wenn wir nicht drüber reden / Tut es weniger weh / Oder? Oder? Oder?“ (“That everything inside me is over / You know that anyway / Right? Right? Right? / And if we don’t talk about it / It hurts less / Right? Right? Right?”)

The lyrics often revolve around a sense of inner conflict: when personal expectations are not met or romantic longing remains unreciprocated. No matter how elaborate the distraction strategies may be – self-care, eating out, or deleting Instagram – in the end, you are still left alone with yourself. This message hits hard right from the start. “Es bringt mir nichts” (“It does nothing for me”) rings out in the opener, chanted by the choir line after line. And yet, this does not sound like resignation – rather like a defiant “fuck you!”

Imbalance is also the underlying mood of the following track „Machen, was man halt so macht“ (“Doing What You Just Do”). It deals with pressure to meet expectations, the “right” life plan, and the feeling of inadequacy – of not managing things as well as others seem to do. The album title is also hidden within this song, one the band struggled to agree on for a long time; there were simply too many good ideas. This, too, is what „Immer alles gleichzeitig“ (“Always Everything at Once”) stands for: “It’s not just about being overwhelmed, it can also mean euphoria”, says singer Inga, who usually writes the lyrics. “There are so many possibilities, so many things that are fun. You can do everything, but not all at once.”

„Immer alles gleichzeitig, klappt halt leider meistens nicht“ (“Always everything at once – unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work”) is the key line of the song. For Kapa Tult themselves, however, this does not apply: they have created a densely packed, cohesive album – with 13 multi-layered songs that convince from start to finish. Without a questioning “Oder?”, but rather with three exclamation marks.

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