With ‘Nah Dran,’ Steiner & Madlaina achieve a startling level of proximity, fulfilling the promise of the album’s title by stripping away the protective layers of their earlier indie-pop sensibilities. Nora Steiner and Madlaina Pollina have moved beyond the observational storytelling of their youth, landing instead in a space of radical presence. The record operates as a sonic study of the nearness of things; the breath between two people, the uncomfortable closeness of one’s own anxieties, and the tangible texture of a live band playing in a room where the air feels heavy with intent.
The album commences with “Da bist Du,” a track that subverts expectations by rooting itself in a haunting, static unease that welcomes a presence while acknowledging the weight it brings. This sense of interpersonal friction gives way to “Du kannst nicht gut allein sein,” a song that explores the exhausting cycle of dependency. Here, the instrumentation swells into a rich urgency, mirroring the frustration of an identity that only feels valid when reflected in someone else’s eyes. The intellectual inquiry continues with “Woran liegts?”, which serves as a searing deconstruction of systemic dissatisfaction, asking why the “good life” often feels so hollow.
A profound cultural shift occurs on “Hend mir nur wele glücklich si?”, where the duo utilizes Swiss-German to ground their existential questions in a more primal, domestic honesty. This vulnerability turns to sharp-edged exhaustion in “Ich hab alles und die Liebe satt,” a track that treats emotional burnout not as a temporary state, but as a physical landscape to be inhabited. The production allows the subtle rasp of the vocals to occupy the foreground, creating an intimacy that feels almost intrusive. This grit is further explored in “Stell sie mir vor,” a narrative piece that navigates the complex social theater of jealousy and introduction with a biting, clever wit.
The record’s mid-section finds a steady, moral pulse in “FairPlay,” a song that pushes against the artificiality of modern social contracts with a muscular, grounding bassline. The emotional apex arrives with the sprawling “Ich war mein Leben lang, immer so nah dran,” a quintessence in atmospheric control that summarizes the record’s philosophy. It is a song about the courage required to stay close to oneself when the world demands performance, blending folk-rooted intimacy with a sophisticated, cinematic scope.
The duo’s ability to subvert tropes is best displayed on “Mama, ich bin ein reicher Mann,” which reclaims a sense of self-worth through emotional rather than material wealth amidst Moritz Widrig’s sweeping string arrangement, followed by the character study “Leon,” which uses a slow-burn arrangement to discuss the quiet tragedies of the everyday. As the album nears its end, “Eines davor” and “Uh la la träum von dir” introduce a lighter orchestral-folk with an almost surrealist warmth, suggesting that even within a serious excavation of the self, there is room for the whimsical and the dreamlike.
The final movements, “Überall” and “Der Mensch ist einsam, alles andere ist nur ein Versuch,” leave the listener in a state of quiet contemplation. The closing track acts as a monumental final statement, suggesting that human solitude is the only absolute truth, and everything else, love, and conversation, is merely a brave attempt to bridge the gap. ‘Nah Dran’ is a landmark achievement, marking Steiner & Madlaina’s transition into a period of fearless, unfiltered artistry that demands the listener’s full, unhurried attention.
Learn more by visiting: Glitterhouse Records | Bandcamp
