Wilkommen im Cabaret! Maybebop's new album is a performance, not just a collection of songs. Each individual track is well-crafted, well-sung and presented as a top-tier studio recording. Yet this album's full picture only becomes clear when regarding these songs as a set. Otherwise it's just a hodgepodge of genres, showtunes, and German satire.

The German satire is important — English language listeners would do well to spend some time with the lyrics and a translation engine. Tracks like Weihnachtsträumereien (Christmas dreams) and Der Tod des Weihnachtsmannes (the Death of Santa Claus) are short stories, entire one-act plays wrapped up in unassumingly nice music. The stories are rich, interesting, and open to interpretation. I preferred them to the more one-note sendups on 2022's Mehr Lametta, like the grumpy Weihnachtsstreik or goofball translation of Grandma got run over by a Reindeer. The 2024 songs have character arcs and plot twists, not just an overall mood — just check out Die Ballade vom Fanta-Klaus. This success is partly because the group collaborated with some very good authors. But it's also because the group itself has written, arranged, and sung a pretty smart set.

There are a few fastballs down the middle. The album opening Nacht, Nacht, heilige Nacht is a straight-up classic carol. I'm a sap so of course I adore it. Carol of the Bells starts off traditional and morphs into a pop song. I'm a sap, so of course I wanted it to stay old-fashioned, but I can't fault their execution. And I quite like the calypso riff on Heidschi bumbeidschi, an otherwise ambered piece of pure kitsch.

Schöner Schein literally means "pretty appearance", but in context it translates to "looks are deceiving". It's also the name of a plastic decorations manufacturer of enormous fake polar bears and other delights. Maybebop has put out a terrific album that just gets more interesting with every layered subtext. My holidays are happier already.

Maybebop is one of the most prodigious and awarded groups in all of RARB's history. Their originality and musicality have garnered all our highest ratings, album after album and decade after decade. On their latest, Schöner Schein (2024) (Beautiful Appearance), the group turns its attention to the Christmas spirit. Packing a full fourteen songs and a world of original arrangements and compositions, this nearly all-German release is a delight! Count on Maybebop to cleverly reinvent the sincere and irreverently explore the overlooked humor of the holiday!

We recognize that language can be hurdle. Here are the titles in German and English and a short quip. May it whet your appetite for streaming yet another fantastic album from a group that seems incapable of anything less.

1) Nacht, Nacht, heilige Nacht (Gustaf Nordqvist & Oliver Gies) — Night Night, Holy Night. A genuine prayer for peace, beautifully sung.

2) K*NG of LightZ. The braggings of the man with the brightest house in town with some pretty impressive rapping!

3) Weihnachtsträumereien (Oliver Gies & Pelle Pershing) — Christmas Dreams. It's good to dream, but there are plenty of dark and twisted dreams on Christmas…

4) Heidschi bumbeidschi (Trad.) Jazzy, upbeat journeys of … a bible.

5) Was ich besaß (Oliver Gies & William Wahl) — What I Owned. An examination of lost and regained Christmas innocence.

6) Die Ballade vom Fanta-Klaus (Oliver Gies, Kersten Flenter) — The Ballad of Fanta-Klaus. A homeless, orange soda-loving Santa and his uplifting effect on others.

7) Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht' (Trad.) — As I watched over my sheep. Lots of key and time signature changes to this light, fun arrangement.

8) Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen (Johannes Petzold & Jochen Klepper) — The night has advanced. A song of religious hope; God's light conquering darkness.

9) Immergrün (Christoph Hiller) — Evergreen. The story of a crooked fir tree with adorably cute arranging using whistling and some great vocal colors.

10) Hört der Engel helle Lieder (Otto Abel) — Hear the Angel's Bright Songs. In the US, we'd recognize the melody as Angels We Have Heard on High, with some twists.

11) Der Tod des Weihnachtsmannes (Oliver Gies, Dieter Aurass) — The Death of Santa Claus. A dark tango, alternative version of Santa Claus' violent end!

12) Das ganze Jahr (Jan Bürger) — All the year long.

13) Carol of the Bells (Trad.) Yup! That one! But this arrangement rocks.

14) Auf die Straßen fällt ein Schnee (Rudolf Lukowsky & Hans Möskenthin) — Snow falls on the streets.

This isn't my all-time favorite Maybebop album, but there's no denying the across-the-board-excellence of this group's work. The singing is first rate, expressive, emotive, and perfect to a note. The production is equally so; restrained where called for, and bold where it supports the music's theatrical demands. As always, Maybebop is a masterclass for makers of a cappella and a fun romp for literally everyone! Enjoy!

Adding to its already voluminous Christmas discography, the eminently versatile Maybebop delivers us all a gift this holiday season in the form of Schöner Schein.

Perhaps the German professional group's greatest calling card is its creativity and malleability. Look no further than the first of their albums I reviewed, Die Gedanken sind frei, a collection of folk tunes reimagined in wildly different genre-bending styles. The same is true here: while the theme is Christmas, one of the greatest triumphs of Schöner Schein is the group's ability to seamlessly shift between genre, style, and mood from track to track and still deliver an album that is a thrill to listen to from top to bottom. Not only will a listener never get bored, but the transitions make a sort of innate sense and provide a much-appreciated variety. Whether it's a traditional four-part carol, a unique take on a holiday classic, a sentimental ballad, a comedic original, or a trademark rap, Maybebop brings a great deal of musical care to each song.

Among the notable devices, the way in which Maybebop employs a textural shift from four-part harmony to voice and background chorus to enhance certain words at will is nothing short of masterful. This can be seen all over the album, but particularly on Was ich besaß and Der Tod des Weihnachtsmannes, in which even a word to punctuate a phrase is done with a texture change. While there is a seemingly endless well of praise for each track, perhaps the most impressive is their take on Carol of the Bells, in which a traditionally epic tune is deconstructed and put back together to become even more spellbinding. Utilizing repeated lines to enhance a dynamic build to an unexpected drop, switching lead vocal colors from low to high, and bookending the track with a subdued intro and outro are just a few reasons why this track is not to be missed.

No matter if you are a native German speaker, a fan of Christmas albums, a connoisseur of comedic a cappella, or just a person who appreciates good music, there is something here for you. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and listen to Maybebop.