No one's really sure whether PeterLicht (Peter Light) is a stage name or not. His albums bear titles like "Lieder vom Ende des Kapitalismus" (Songs from the End of Capitalism), while the songs come with names like "Die transsylvanische Verwandte ist da" (The Transylvanian Relative is Here).

PeterLicht has an affinity for strangeness, whether it's packaged as a pop song, a theater piece or a prose text. The Cologne-based writer and performer's new album is called "Das Ende der Beschwerde" (The End of the Complaint) and pairs puzzling lyrics with catchy tunes.

"Wenn ich nicht hier bin, bin ich auf dem Sonnendeck" (If I'm not here, I'm on the sun deck) he sang a few years in ago in his biggest hit to date. Even then, the multi-talented singer wasn't easy to understand. The song, which deals with the subject of dying, became a surprise summer hit.

Ready to pop

The title doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but it does sum up the spirit of the album. Previous releases have offered melancholy takes on society and capitalism, but the singer is done complaining. Instead, optimism, escapism, new ideas and a curious appeal to "shake the bartender" make up the core of The End of the Complaint.

Musically, the album is all sweetness and pop. PeterLicht, a winner of the Ingeborg Bachmann Audience Award, has no problem assuming the role of entertainer.

"Pop is just such a great propeller," he said. "This incredible craziness that you find in, say, the Pet Shop Boys, fits perfectly with certain texts."

Heart-shaped iPhone

"Begrabt mein iPhone an der Biegung des Flusses" (Bury My iPhone at Wounded Knee) is one lyric from the new release. It draws on a line associated with the violent oppression of Native Americans in United States history. But while the original saying uses the heart, PeterLicht replaces it with the iPhone as the most elementary part of a person.

Maybe there's a touch of capitalist critique on the new release after all? Not exactly, the singer said.

"The iPhone is actually a device that's full of soul - it's very close to your heart and your feelings," PeterLicht explained.

That's something a good pop album and Apple's darling device have in common. Pop is made for people to like it.

"Ceasing to belong to oneself is fascinating, and this whole social networking is about the loss of personal identity," he concluded.

Waxing philosophic

In another song titled "Fluchtstück" (Escape Piece), PeterLicht tries to dissolve his own identity completely. His motivation is philosophical, drawn from what he deems the "mental illness of individualism." In an era of rampant self-promotion and casting shows, the singer is ready to flee.

"Society would be great if it weren't for all the people," he sings in the album's title track.

The basis for the song is his observation that many people find society too confining. They'd rather shut themselves out.

"The entire collective consciousness suggests that no one is okay the way he is. The only kind of people there are are people who need to change, and that is of course a very effective system," PeterLicht remarked.

But much like its singer, The End of the Complaint can't always be taken literally. That's one reason the album is so much fun - another, of course, is the music.

Author: Eva Gutensohn / gsw
Editor: Kate Bowen