13&god

Ever since sales figures for physical records started to
dwindle there has been a debate surrounding the future of
the album format. Some people claimed that download
practices of the average music fan would make the album
as we know it redundant. There were already obituaries
for the album as an art-form being published and those
who declared that they only listen to single tracks on their
iPod anyway. This served as a reminder that the LP was
originally nothing more than a collection of a particular
artists recent singles anyway. Whether 13&God were
thinking about any of this when they started work on their
second album „own your ghost“ or not is a different
question. Although one might suppose so. For although
„own your ghost“ in no way overpowering, it is so diverse
that one sometimes has the feeling that one is listening to
a compilation. Whoever opens themselves to this album is
letting themselves in for an emotional rolercoaster of
uncertain terminus. Everything seems to be possible on
this record: deathly sad, enchanting indie hymns. Sharp
stinging raps by Sharp stinging raps by Doseone with
his distinctive voice. Understated grooves, Krautrock
tracks, melancholy, lightness.
The lyrics and song titles are another strength the album and one that binds it together. For on „own your
ghost“ 13&God are dealing with life's big topics: growing old, death and mortality. In other words they are
concerned with issues that pop music has traditionally left behind. Lyrics and song titles such as can't get
the eat out of death, death major, old age, unyoung, to end, belong down etc. are like a read thread
through pretty much all the songs. And the front cover depicts a weightless skeleton floating through the
air.
13&God were founded in 2004 under adventurous circumstances by members of the bands Themselves
(Adam Doseone Drucker, Jeffrey Jel Logan, Dax Pierson, Jordan Dalrymple) und The Notwist (Markus and
Micha Acher, Martin Gretschmann). According to the legend the idea for the project was born on the
highway near the Canadian border. A burning laptop and a stuffed fox apparently played central roles in
the event.
This transcontinental supergroup brings together curiosity, openness and ability. The Notwists signature is
unmistakable – the absolute blueprint for experimental indie pop. The same goes for the Anticon band
Themselves. That such different musicians time and again continue to surprise their listeners is to their
highest credit. „own your ghost“ gives us a sense of how 13&God manage to stay afloat on a see of
possibilities, rather than becoming shipwrecked on it.