Everybody who’s familiar with The Kinks, Oasis or The Jesus and Mary Chain knows that being brothers in a rock band is part of a certain tradition. It can be a very fertile one, creativity-wise, but more often than not it turns out to be pretty biblical, in a Cain-and-Abel kind of way. Adi and Luke Weyermann so far have abstained from going for each other’s throats because they’re the other kind of brothers. The nurturing kind, the kind with a shared vision, a limitless trust in each other and an enthusiasm for what their career has in store for them. So far they’re pretty sure they have the best job in the world, because yes, they have also started a rock band.
“He’s the brain, I am the muscle“, states Luke Weyermann, addressing the symbiotic relationship within the band. It’s a fairly accurate comparison: For one thing, it is Adi who writes and sings most of the songs, and Luke who drives them with his drum set into that sweet spot where your emotions sit. And while Luke has been flirting all his life with the raw power of Punk, Alternative and Hardrock, it was Adi who stayed in studying Bob Dylan and exploring all the directions a new melody could take him. That way, both of them were able to help the other back on his feet if one of them had painted themselves into a musical corner.
To get some facts out of the way first: The Weyers hail from Zurich in Switzerland. Although both have been making music for decades, this band is their first venture together. It exists for four years now and has already produced an album and a EP. If the band name brings to mind classic rock acts of the British Invasion era, it’s no coincidence: As kids Luke and Adi have been singing along to every Beatles song before they even knew the words. That feeling of reckless abandon hasn’t subsided since: “To us English is an electrifying language, one that sounds like drums and guitars.“
Drums and guitars are also what their new album “Out Of Our Heads“ is about. Its title suggests more or less everything that has been going around their heads for the last two years and is not limited to their home turf in Switzerland. Recent tours have seen The Weyers perform throughout Europe from Lisbon to Oslo where audiences witnessed a dynamic duo racking up the sort of decibels you’d normally expect only five-piece-bands to be capable of.
Their genre of music is called Rock, by the way. That’s because Rock best represents the musical scope The Weyers envision. Adi’s vocals are squarely in the vein of classic Rock’n’Roll performers – the talented all-rounder who can make both heavy belters and heartfelt ballads his own. It’s the kind of confident voice that is able to infuse every line with enough soul and sincerity to make you want to follow it everywhere. That’s why a song like “Bout Love“ proudly shows off its Blues influences just like “So Good To See You“ presents a subtle Country leaning.
Their genre is called Rock for another reason. After all, The Weyers want to have it both ways: a chassis sparkling like a riff by fabled idols Queens of the Stone Age to the rhythm of an engine fueled by the time-honed traditions of classic song-writers. “Our music really comes together where beauty and energy intertwine“, says Adi, taking mental notes for his next guitar solo. Of which there is an abundance on “Out of Our Heads“.
The record is comprised of 11 songs showcasing a stylistic variety that is both captivating and straight-forward. The Weyers are the sort of band you probably first encounter on a festival stage wowing audiences with a new favourite. A song that informs the last 5 five minutes of your life or readily soundtracks the next few years of your existence. You might find yourself enthralled by a regular alternative-rock powertrip like “Done With Love“, you might succumb to the swagger of “Walk“ or you might fall in love with the shadowy allure of pop gem “Darkness“. Maybe it’s the addictive melody of “Voluntary Tears“ that does you in, maybe it’s the mighty live stomp of “White Elephant“.
Beauty and energy, as The Weyers have it, might just be the tender middle ground on which they work their magic. The in-between realm of ear candy and powerful chords where adventurous emotions feel most at home. Album opener “Bout Love“ echoes that dualistic idea with lines like “Isn’t that what love was meant to be? /It was meant to hold you and set you free“. Security and freedom make an unlikely couple again on britpop-infused “Think Of You“ and the hands-on rocker “Strange Thing“ that fuses hard riffs with mellow feelings. “Forever is a Long Time“, the song bittersweetly reminisces, with the sort of conviction that implies forever is welcome to last a bit longer.
Because The Weyers are now older than John Lennon ever was (or Johnny Rotten ever dreamt of becoming) the lyrics on “Out of Our Heads“ aren’t really about lust and leisure, and they’re not about things that can be measured in sex, drugs and Rock’n’Roll, either. Rather, they’re about people who know what it feels like to have experienced life to the fullest, all light and shadow included. People who know how alive you feel walking the razor’s egde between the two. “If I had to die right now“, Adi says, “I want those songs to reflect how I feel rather than what I think ryhmes best. After all you can only send the right message if you sing what you feel is most sincere.“
“Out of Our Heads“ really embodies that sense of sincerity. Musically, the album title best translates as “Everything Goes“, the brothers insist. Which means that from the fattest drum set to the most intricate piano part, everything the songwriting required wound up in the right place on the record. Overdubs included. If there’s a message to it all, it would be as follows: There is always a possibility for positivity, no matter how fatalistic the circumstances may appear. Or as Luke has it: “It’s about being part of the moment and letting it pass at the same time“.
What sounds like a philosophical confession is really just the result of two brothers making common cause in their work and music. “It’s true bromance“, The Weyers say. It’s a contagious brand of Rock music, their ever-growing audiences say. For Luke and Adi it’s also a timely reminder of what success looks like from the stage. “There’s certainly no other job in the world where you are applauded every three or four minutes“, they laugh. Once again, simultaneously.
Website: http://www.the-weyers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theweyers/