Barbara Morgenstern

In addition to her recent collaborations with fellow label-mate Robert Lippok, Morgenstern has just returned from a world tour sponsored by German cultural foundation, the Goethe Institute, just in time to release her fifth full-length album for the Monika label. All the production and vocals are done by Morgenstern herself, aside from Arne Ghosh on live drums and some final mixing is provided by Tarwater band member Bernd Jestram. The Grass is Always Greener follows Morgenstern’s compositional tendencies towards playful, bubbly, electro pop melodies that support a traditional pop song structure, where her vocals weave quirky stories moving fluidly from German to English. Yet this album differs from her earlier work because of her predominant use of new age piano ballads atop the electronic production that arguably places the overall attention to her vocals secondary. Good for studying German or passing time on elevators.