"Welcome! The key's under the doormat. Make yourself at home. There's food in the refrigerator, but I ran to the store. Be right back."

Hamburg singer-songwriter Niels Frevert invites us quite literally into his home to enjoy a cup of tea and take in his latest album.

With "Zettel auf dem Boden" (A Note on the Floor), he's given the German music scene an album that could just as well be hung on the wall or put in the DVD player as a film. It's a series of marginalia, a mosaic of bulletin board messages.

"They're just these little notes that we leave behind. Some say, 'I'm out getting cigarettes - be back in five minutes,' others, 'I'm leaving you today,' or, 'The food's in the refrigerator,'" Frevert explained. He realized early on that the disc would become a series of stories.

Relaxed but never dull

"Zettel auf dem Boden" is the fourth solo album by the 44-year-old, put out by Tapete Records, a recent winner of the Hamburg Music Prize. Before he struck out as a solo singer and story-teller, Niels Frevert played during the 1990s in the band Nationalgalerie (National Gallery). They made it to MTV with their hit "Evelin." Once the group broke up, Frevert kept on making music.

His latest release is no great departure from the one that came before, titled "Du kannst mich an der Ecke rauslassen" (You Can Let Me Out At The Corner). They both sound laid back, gentle, perhaps even a bit tired - but in a contented way. It's relaxation music that never turns boring. Quirky references crop up again and again in the lyrics, ranging from squirrel feeders in the park to a certain Mister Frevert on his therapist's couch.



Not out to preach

This album doesn't focus on grandiose themes. Instead, anecdotes take center stage. They deal with friendship, sympathy and coming to terms with oneself in everyday life, but they don’t turn preachy or political.

"I try to make it so that the images can link up with each other, perhaps in surprising ways. But I don't try to give the stories a moral - I just like to let the image be what it is," Frevert said.

"Zettel auf dem Boden" captures what the songwriter does best: weaving pictures together and picking up on striking turns of phrase. Along the way, Niels Frevert proves again that widespread fame can elude even the best of a country’s musicians.

Author: Eva Gutensohn / gsw
Editor: Rick Fulker