Die Nerven

DIE NERVEN (The Nerves) are a German-speaking post-punk / noise-rock 3-piece with a penchant for gloom and nihilism. Founded as a noisy lo-fi duo in 2010 in Esslingen near Stuttgart - South Germany – the young trio have released music on many formats and shapes and sizes including a 7" on Amphetamine Reptile Records before their first physical full-length Fluidum was put out by This Charming Man Records. 2014 saw the release of the follow-up album Fun which was featured in almost every Best of 2014 list in Germany.

The band were recently chosen by Rolling Stone Germany to contribute a cover of Joy Division’s No Love Lost for the covermount CD of their October issue, which explores the work of Joy Division and New Order songs, and the CD also features covers by luminaries such as Tortoise and Codeine.

Every bit as urgent and pleasingly raucous as previous works, Out brings a new maturity showcasing Die Nerven's progression and sophistication in range and tight coherence both in the studio and on stage. Easing in gradually, Die Unschuld in Person opens with a classic post-punk jangle before swelling to the sort of signature nihilist growl that by now is a hallmark of their work. After a change of pace through the Fugazi-esque Barfuß durch die Scherben and the doomed tones of Jugend ohne Geld, you arrive at the album's summit and standout track, Dreck.

Locked and loaded and laden with swagger, singer Julian Knoth mounts the track, if only briefly, as though on a pedestal and proceeds to spit and roar with a poise and ferocity that positions him as worthy of comparison with the greats of the genre. Hailed as Germany's answer to the UK's Eagulls, Die Nerven and Out arrive ready and capable of shoring up and evolving a much-loved genre with the uncanny ability to reinvent itself and their latest contribution sends seismic waves to that effect.