The first, self-titled, album of the Violet Steam Experience is a good, solid German alternative-style album with hints of tribal and Jazz, making it more original, fresh and pleasant to listen to.
Contrary to many bands, this group does retain its own particular live vibe on record, which is something not heard very often these days when bands tend to sound better live than recorded. The songs are of a good mix between uptempo, slower and ballads, which brings a great variation to the album.
Bianca “Cinnamon Star” Stücker’s vocals are an excellent accompaniment to the arrangements and stay strong regardless of style, genre or tempo of the song. All of this is making the Violet Steam Experience a steampunk band well worth checking out with a first album very much worth listening to.
Aside from this being a good and solid album, it’s also incredibly well presented with a beautiful CD cover and inside a short story in German, titled “Apocalyptic City: Ein Dystopischen Märchen von Bianca Stücker”. I wouldn’t be able to tell you if it’s any good as I can’t read German well enough, but I think it’s a wonderful touch nonetheless and I really appreciate the effort the band took for their album, especially when most CDs barely have a booklet worth mentioning these days. This alone makes it worth buying a physical copy rather than a digital one.
