Bettina Köster, Queen Of Noise

By Ann Clarke

I love it when you put on an album, and it just kicks ass immediately. I love it even more when it continues to kick ass, and then when it’s over, you feel compelled to listen to it again! That doesn’t always happen, even with some of your personal favorite albums.

Bettina Köster’s Queen of Noise might not be my favorite album, but it certainly falls into the realm of the type of album I just described. It just kicks ass, and continues to kick ass! (I apologize for my lowbrow description, but I guess it sort of brings the cave-girl out of me!) I mean, seriously; when something just rocks your lame ass, you know it instantly.

For those who don’t know who Bettina Köster is, she is the ex-vocalist of the German all-girl band of awesomeness from the early ’80s known as Malaria! (I previously interviewed the other ringleader, Gudrun Gut, on Popshifter, so you can read that as a historical reference point).

She was also part of a duo with The Vanishing’s Jessie Evans called Autonervous that put out a record about two years ago. I felt Autonervous wasn’t that spectacular (mainly because the focus was on Jessie, and there wasn’t enough Bettina on it).

Bettina has a history of playing experimental sax, and having a very deep, powerful, and commanding voice. . . and she still does, but it’s a bit smoke-weathered these days. It evokes a modern Marianne Faithfull in many ways, but with a predominant German accent. The main difference between Bettina and Marianne’s vocals is that, Bettina will still break into her old Malaria chops once in awhile. Marianne can only handle the weathered range, so I would say Bettina is the victor when it comes to cigarette-soaked vocals.

The first song on Queen of Noise is a unique cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”. It has an almost robotic feel to it, and is an unusual approach to this song. I like it when a musician does an interpretation of a song that allows the song to become its own being. I totally dig it!

The second track is “Crime Don’t Pay (Stupid).” I LOVE this one, and it’s one of my favorites, mainly because I can totally agree with Bettina’s lyrics in general à la “the Sucker had it coming/it’s his own fault!” I find myself using the same phrase often, since Cleveland is a crime-infested shit-pit! Story-wise, it also made me think of that asshole Bernie Madoff! It has a real groovy hook, and I think it would work on the dance floor

“Fianc’ a Fianco,” the third track, is another groovy number, with many layers of Bettina’s voice fluctuating between the smoky purr, and Achtung! Achtung!

The fourth track, “Ocean Drive,” is my favorite on the whole album; it is sexy, smooth, funky, and vocally, it’s less gravelly. Actually, it reminds me the most of early Malaria! I like the subtle use of saxophone in it, and the clunky drums. Lyrically & melodically, it’s very catchy. Even though she speaks of a Cuban Café in it. . . it makes me imagine what my upcoming trip to Lisbon will be like!

“Regina,” the fifth song, is very much a sexy, spoken word track with minimalist music, mostly a drum & bass beat that builds up.

Next is the second cover featured on the album, “Femme Fatale,” done originally by the Velvet Underground. It’s very rough around the edges & haphazard, and its probably the only cover I’ve heard of this that’s pretty close to the original (mainly due to the deep German female voice). However, coming from Bettina, it’s believable. For the record, I am not a fan of Nico, but I like this cover!

Track number seven, “Holy Water,” is fucking killer! It’s probably my second favorite next to “Ocean Drive.” The tympanic drums are fabulous and the layers of Bettina’s vocals could pass for three or four different singers! It sounds like men and women exchanging passages, but it’s all Bettina. . . and very sensual & apocalyptical.

“Grab Me” (track eight) seems like a continuance of “Holy Water,” as both songs seem to meld into one another seamlessly, and the subject matter is just as jarring and sensual. “Grab Me,” however has more of an electronic cut-up of beats & glitches. I really like the jabs of sax and flamenco guitar. This is also dance club-friendly. Actually, it almost reminds of something that could easily be found on Alan Wilder’s Recoil project. In fact, Alan should consider using Bettina as a collaborator!

The next track “Confession,” is another favorite. The lyrics are comical & sultry at the same time, as in “here’s my confession/I’ve been playing in the trash/and I’ve kissed a lot of frogs!” The bass-line is slick, and the faint sax echoes work really well. Bettina is sounding gritty in this one, to the point that some of the interjections of the lyrics, “BUT NOT FROM ME!” actually sound like she’s channeling George Michael’s throat!

“Pity Me” (track tenA) is a short & sparse piano dirge. It evokes melancholy & loneliness & a bit of regret. It seems as if Bettina was inspired by Portuguese Fado singers!

On “Via Pasolini,” Bettina commands, “You can shake your fist/you can shake your head/you can even shake your booty!” What a catchy passage; it could be a jingle! However, the subject matter isn’t exactly appropriate for commercialism! Maybe there should be a new trailer for Salo edited with this as the underscore.

And finally, “Thar She Blows” is just an absolutely beautiful epilogue to this unparalleled & epic release. The title sounds like it should be a comedic tune, but the song is actually achingly heartfelt, and yet again makes me anticipate looking upon the Atlantic from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos.

I think I will be listening to this quite a bit on my upcoming TAP Portugal flight as this is an excellent album!

Queen Of Noise was released in October 2009 and is available on CD Baby. Check out Bettina’s MySpace page to listen to selections from the album.