Die Zärtlichkeit (Tenderness) are a two piece outfit from Cologne, Germany and this self titled EP is their debut discounting a preview track released last month.

That track, titled Chaos, opens the EP and it’s a vintage sounding indie/jangle pop song which gets things off to a fine start. That benchmark does not waver during the rest of the EP. I hear sparks of the likes of The Smiths, The Dentists and The Railway Children on Trugschluss and on the mellow closer Schnee und Eis with it’s echoing, jangling guitars.

There is also some beautiful programming/synths throughout none more so than on the EPs standout track Hinter Diesen Wänden. They sound just a lovely towards the end of Vor Dem Spind which gives both songs mentioned another (j) angle. It’s truly an impressive EP that will be on my playlist for a while yet.

The Die Zärtlichkeit EP is available in cassette and digital formats from the band.