Following the disappointing Live Aus Berlin CD and DVD release – reviewed in the previous Continental Drift column – Herz sees Rosenstolz explode into top form. The usual mixture of left-field, dance-oriented pop and torch ballads are present and correct, but from the opening blast of ‘Willkommen’ to the closing delicate and beautiful ballad ‘Augenblick (Dezember)’ there is no let-up in the quality control stakes. Frequently frantic and sexy, this is an album that is free from filler. Every track could be an attention-grabbing hit single. The magnificent ballad, ‘Liebe Ist Alles’ is this album’s manifesto, with a heartbreakingly beautiful vocal performance from Anna R. There is no other band quite like Rosenstolz these days. Achingly soulful, just a little kitsch and as ready as anybody to have a good time. I imagine that not everyone will like Rosenstolz. I also imagine that some will love Rosenstolz very hard indeed. If you like songs about love, hurt and sex, if you have an open mind and believe that love is all, then I might just be talking about you.Herz has a simultaneous release on DVD featuring, as if to emphasise that this is an album of potential singles, individual promo videos for each track. There are also a couple of limited-edition CDs. One limited-special-fan-edition-fold-out-digipack CD features a standard lyric booklet and poster. The poster takes the form of a thank you to Rosenstolz fans and features a poster on one side with a long list of fans on the other. I’ve looked and I’ve looked but I’m not there. Boooo!
