Playlist of the Month

Longing Fever, the fifth full-length album from singer-songwriter / producer Evelinn Trouble, is a dark and sobering examination of our need to love and be loved. Visceral, layered, and rich in nuance; each of the twelve songs found on here were expertly crafted to land on your tongue with ease—designed to be addictive. Trouble was always a genre shapeshifter, but with this record the fusion of styles is so natural and seamless that it’s impossible to break it down into primary components. When she fuses old-timey a capella singing with heavily distorted drums („Just Wanna Vibe“) or contrasts techno beats with Iggy Pop’esque guitar riffs („Abundance Of“) what we get is essentially the sound of Trouble! It’s hard to even separate the synthetic from the acoustic as far as the arrangements are concerned, as the instrumentation blends together so naturally: everything working together to carry her dark and mature voice. A voice that - on top of her eerie and poetic lyrics - carries a story of it’s own.

With only a couple of exceptions, the entire material was written in Berlin. It happened during one of those dark, heavy winters. If you’ve ever had the privilege to live through one, then you already know that introspection is not really a choice, and wrestling with your shadows is a daily default. In „Roadkill“ this is tangible, as Trouble summons her inner demons in a breathless rap that explodes into fireworks and a choral of saxophones. The writing process corresponded with Evelinn’s commitment to rebuilding her voice from scratch, using proper operatic techniques. It was a laborious and disciplined process, because the mission was to undo years of misuse and abuse, from making herself heard in all the loud bands she used to play with. Yes, Trouble knows trouble and a path layered with lemons. And her way of making lemonade is to write the kind of songs that you mysteriously fall in love with and then carry in your heart for years.