[German Version]

A man is walking through the streets of Vienna. He faces the others. They annoy him. They’re fast-paced and they’re connected to electronic devices seeking distraction. But that man is looking for someone who feels just like him. He is able to find said someone: in the reflections on the windows of the parked cars.

That’s what Bernhard Schur sings about in his song „Closer“ (taken from his latest LP/CD „Yol“). And he is right: There’s no-one like him. He is a veteran cherishing the eternal values – melody, open chords, The Beatles – and onstage he’s an entertainer bound to baffle, if he wants to he can squeal like a bird and roar like a monster from the swamps. In the 90ies he used to be composer and bandleader with Snakkerdu Densk, deep in the guts of Vienna’s underground pop scene. In the course of the new millenium Schnur has refined his musical language on three records so far. You will inevitably recognise a song by Schnur when you hear it: It’s his voice, it’s the way his catchy vocal lines fall between the notes of his guitar-strings that are constantly swinging hard.

Mostly he performs alone with his guitar. Effortlessly he goes beyond the scope oft traditional folk songwriting. Because he doesn’t pick, he strums. Because he wiggles his hips, because he‘s funny and at the same time he’s almost sacred in his earnest devotion to the format of the popsong. As long as singing not only in English but also in Italian, in fantasy words or with Slavonic flavour can be filed under pop. (Which, of course, he sings not only in English but also in Italian, in fantasy words or with Slavonic flavour.) One part McCartney, one part Andy Kaufman, two parts Bernhard Schnur. From time to time he will employ a band that adds a worthy feel of cinemascope to his songs.

Will he remain a beloved insider’s musician? Or will he one day be able to purchase an estate surrounded by trees in Southern England as he‘d deserve to? We’ll see. In the meantime the truth about Bernhard Schnur is written on the car-windows: There’s no-one like him.