"I wanna blow up in the endless noise of whatever’s left to come."
Music is everything. It’s the ups and downs, the euphoria and lethargy. It comforts you, it drowns you, only to lift you up again, kiss you deeply, and stay with you forever.
Two people who have deeply internalized this feeling are long-time friends Darius Lohmüller and Jakob Walheim, who run their band THE DEADNOTES with an unwavering all-or-nothing mentality.
Driven by sheer determination and passion, they have traveled extensively all across Europe together, performed live over 600 times to a slowly yet continually growing audience, sold more and more records, experienced both the best and most grueling moments of their lives, destroyed themselves physically and mentally, fallen into deep debt multiple times, but never once questioned for a single day that they were doing it for the right cause.
By 2025, the duo are amongst the most active independent rock acts in Europe coming out of Germany.
With the forthcoming release of Rock 'n' Roll Saviour, THE DEADNOTES now present their new studio album, released for the first time via renowned Hamburg-based independent label Grand Hotel van Cleef.
On their new full-length, produced by Bob Cooper (Jools, Johnny Foreigner, Cultdreams) in Leeds, UK, Darius Lohmüller and Jakob Walheim update the audiovisual aesthetics of artists like Huey Lewis, Tom Petty, and the rock 'n' roll of the 80s for our modern times. Clear evidence that the band have finally “arrived”, Darius Lohmüller and Jakob Walheim took their time over the past few years to develop the new record, and boy did they succeed—now more than ever, The Deadnotes have found their trademark sound.
Such an album title is not easy to carry off. There are countless rock and roll clichés. Most of them are outdated, irrelevant—if they ever were—and obsolete. But there is one fundamental truth: the volume, the late nights, the brutally honest lyrics, that feeling of what rock and roll can mean...it can save you, no matter what. It can show you the way, help you get back on your feet. Those who have felt it know it to be true.
The destructive power of rock ‘n’ roll is well-documented and THE DEADNOTES know it all too well, but band members Darius Lohmüller and Jakob Walheim prefer to emphasize the unfathomable, yet always tangible, power of music. For the two friends, adopting the album name and ethos behind it was a no-brainer.
Opening track ‘December 31st’ kicks open the doors in style: the diary-like intro captures the sense of new beginnings that the start of a new year, a new chapter, collectively holds. The final guitar riff propels us into the execution of our resolutions.
‘Jesus Christ (I’m Sick And Tired Of Falling In Love)’ conveys unbridled determination. Lohmüller describes his struggles with addiction, always searching for the ultimate high, and proclaims: from here on out, everything will get better. And even if you know that’s not always going to be true—for the moment, it will help.
‘American Sightseer’ is an irresistible hit that takes place in the dazzling nightlife of Berlin and processes a break-up, tells a story about self-(re)discovery—the doubts and internal dialogues you have where you admit things to yourself in order to forget them, only to accept them the next day.
Otherwise, a song like ‘Show Me What Love Is’ would be unthinkable. It comes across light-footed and funky, with a brass section inviting you to the dancefloor, where it explodes into glittering Gala-indie-rock boasting both a guitar and a saxophone solo. Recognizing just how messed up modern dating is, the quest for ultimate romance is hard when all we are bombarded with are ironically-broken reels about how meaningless true feelings are in general. The song doesn’t seek to give an answer but says: "Let’s figure it out together."
Of course, it doesn’t always work like that, as ‘The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ attests to, ending pompously before a string quartet closes out the album’s A-side.
Side B of Rock 'n' Roll Saviour then picks up full steam: ‘Jolene (I’m In Love With A Superstar)’ flips the original perspective of Dolly Parton’s classic by 180 degrees, telling a story about unequal perceptions of the same situation from an unhealthy male point of view.
It’s clear: “I’ve had enough of bad tattoos / no need for pity anymore”—’Dumb Style’ stands for catharsis and admitting to yourself, even soberly, that it’s time for a fresh start. On the following track ‘Marlboro Man’, this realization becomes manifest—“I’m still too young to die.”
Driven by a pulsing keyboard and surf guitar, lead single ‘Reservoir’ feels like a convertible ride on an American highway, where the initial unease in your stomach—all of the worries—disappear with every mile, and a sense of euphoria, a carefree courage, gradually takes the wheel and drives you far away from all your problems.
The album’s closing track, ‘Texas On My Mind’, feels like the end credits to the journey you’ve just experienced together: musical themes from the album reappear, fragments of recently heard lyrics float by, and all the album’s players are named. As so often is the case, the realization is this: that the journey itself was always the reward, and for THE DEADNOTES, the journey is still long.
At the end of this album, you’re left fulfilled; it’s a record that may not be a concept album in theconventional sense, but nevertheless tells a story in ten snapshots that is ultimately about the music in all things. Songs about not wanting to compromise on anything, ever.
On Rock ‘n’ Roll Saviour, THE DEADNOTES confront the hardship of everyday life with a romanticism that never becomes naïve but is ever aware that sometimes things must get worse before they can get better. But they do get better.
Rock 'n' Roll Saviour will be released on February 21, 2025, via Grand Hotel van Cleef. Starting in March, the band will tour live as a quartet, including their largest-ever headline show to date in Cologne.
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