Notes and the Like:Ms. John Soda

Artist: Ms. John Soda

Date Released: March 21, 2006

Label: Morr Music

Produced By:

Tracklisting:
 * 1) A Nod on Hold
 * 2) Hands
 * 3) Scan the Ways
 * 4) A Million Times
 * 5) No. One
 * 6) Outlined View
 * 7) Line by Line
 * 8) Sometimes Stop, Sometimes Go
 * 9) Plenty Of

Review: Hmmm, melancholy German electro-pop, what label would be, could be responsible for this??? If your answer is not Morr Music, either you are extremely oblivious to this genre of music (which is perfectly fine) or… well, probably just not into the genre, because these Berliners are relentless with their moody electronica. Ms. John Soda is the “pop-project” of bassist/programmer/catchy tunes creator Micha Archer (The Notwist, 13 & God, Tied and Tickled Trio) and soft-spoken crooner/keyboardist Stefanie Böhm (Couch). For their second full-length album, the duo has made great strides in polishing their sound into deceptively simple pop songs that waste no time with cluttery percussion or complicated song structures. Instead Archer composes subtle, string-heavy background music for Böhm to sing/speak over with her soft yet sexy voice and heavily German-accented syntax. Electro-pop these days seems to be extremely hit-or-miss, either its highly addictive or very forgettable, but Ms. John Soda’s airy tunes seem to find a nice niche in between, much like label-mate Masha Qrella. It makes for a pleasant, laid-back listen without having to be acutely attuned to what’s actually going on, which sometimes is what you need the most. Mpardaiolo