Ulrich Schnauss

He's saying Goodbye, and you might not even know him yet. He's Ulrich Schnauss (MySpace), and he's got some shoe-gazing electro-pop he'd like you to hear. That's why he's coming to World Cafe Live tomorrow night, accompanied by Soundpool and Brooklyn dream pop band Mahogany.

Schnauss' latest release, Goodbye, is a complexly layered, sweeping, dramatic, romantic piece of music. What it reminds us of the most is soundtracks: Tangerine Dream's original soundtrack to Legend; Vangelis' soundtrack to Blade Runner. Like those soundtracks, Goodbye has a feeling of narrative, drama, and earnestness - and it also occasionally gets a bit... cheesy. Lyrically, musically, and even in the track titles. "A Song about Hope?" C'mon now.

Just as with those soundtracks, however, we find ourselves enjoying Goodbye despite ourselves. It embraces you in swirling waves of warm, lovely sound - and it's got a beat you can dance to. Hard to resist.

Ulrich Schnauss w/Mahogany
World Cafe Upstairs Live
Thu, 9/20/07, 9PM
$13-$17 (Get Tickets)

Photo of Ulrich holding a strange stuffed creature courtesy Motormouth Media