Die Sterne

in cooperation with KOHI

DIE STERNE - WENN ES LIEBE IST 2026

Presented by Musikexpress, ByteFM, BANDUP, Laut.de, Kaput Mag

The new album "Wenn es Liebe ist" by Die Sterne brings together familiar indie-pop moments in the band's signature sound alongside some genuinely unexpected reinventions. German-language lyrics sit next to English-sung tracks, post-punk influences run through the record, and on two songs Dyan Valdés takes the lead vocal. Rather than sounding like a hundredth retread, the album feels like a fresh start - sharp, witty and uncompromising.

The single "Ich nehme das Amt nicht an" rides a massive riff, a driving beat and an energy drawn from the likes of Jack White and T. Rex. Singer and frontman Frank Spilker calls it "riff-rock" - a release valve for the irrationality and refusal of debate that define our times. The song targets the renaissance of the irrational: the collapse of argument-driven discourse, the retreat from facts, escalations that have long since tipped into violence. Spilker writes with precision, irony and an unsettling topicality, showing once again how accurately Die Sterne translate social developments into music.

Since the early 1990s, Die Sterne have been one of the most important voices in German-language pop. Their sharp eye for social observation, political wit and poetic edge set a standard that many still measure themselves against. "Wenn es Liebe ist" proves that, more than 30 years after their first records, Die Sterne remain as relevant as ever.