A few months ago, the band finally moved into their first own rehearsal room here and pimped it with dark blue walls and pink shelves. Step by step “Love Language” was gradually turned into a finished album over the course of the calendar year 2024. Power Plush finally recorded it in the Berlin studio of producer Dennis Borger. Known for his collaborations with Betterov and TEMMIS. He understood the vision behind “Love Language” right from the first meeting with the four piece in December 2023 and motivated Power Plush to keep the new record rocky by their standards. By this point, Svenja, Anja and Maria had already written several new song lyrics and brought them to drummer Nino's shared room for band sessions. While the rest of the band was writing lyrics, he was honing his producing skills. This was why Power Plush - unlike in the “Coping Fantasies” development phase - were able to complete the first song sketches on their own and provide Dennis Borger with relatively advanced demo versions of new songs.

This way debates concerning the record's sound were negotiated within the band - perhaps that's why “Love Language” feels so free, so rounded, so much like Power Plush and a band project. The thematic framework of the record was also found in long, friend-like conversations. “Love Language” - this aspect actually bundles together all twelve allusions - tells of love that flares up and fades out, lasts and despairs, sometimes loud, quiet, old, new, inspiring or love that failed. It tells of separation, grief, anger and piercing self-doubt (“Acting In A Way”) - “Everyday I cut my hair hoping I could feel a change”. Of reflection, healing and new beginnings (“Blue”); of new thresholds that are crossed and new doors that are pushed open; of the blurred borderline between deep friendship and queer intimacy (“Crush”); of being alone, of fleeing and arriving. And, of course, of successful, failed or inadequate communication in partnerships - with other people, with the world, with oneself.

Tracks such as “Mini Pancakes” or the epic “Crush” portray falling in love as an exciting experience in a positive sense. The majestically shimmering “You Know You Messed Up”, on the other hand, which at second glance can also be read as a criticism revolving around today's society, takes a rather melancholic look at a failed relationship: “I won't forget the words you said I won't forgive the wrongs you've made”. Power Plush is always a ride on the emotional roller coaster - and a pile-up of extremely good and extremely bad heart states. The indie track “Waste My Time” - a feature with Shelter Boy - heralded by an interstellar, synth-embellished interlude, for example, tells of a rather toxic form of being in love: “I need to be as exciting as you seem to me / you're so careless must feel free / I'm counting my anxieties”. The most significant song for Power Plush on “Love Language”? Probably the eponymous finale - because Anja, Maria and Svenja wrote the song together on an instrumental designed by Nino and alternate in their vocal parts. At this point, the common path of the last few years manifests itself - and the essential learning for Power Plush from the second album: “Now that I'm here with me I'll ignite my spark / spell out the words so free / untangle messes of the past”.

Also worth mentioning: the opener “Blue”, which is released as the second single and in many ways acts as an album staple - because this track, with its hit-ready hook and colour-soaked lyrics, is Power Plush in a nutshell. “Blue” is about an attempt at a personal new start in the aftermath of a painful break-up, describing the sobering view out the window into the pale grey - all colours seem to have faded completely and be overshadowed by stinging gloom. Then, at some point, a dull blue at least makes its way; at first it only runs through the world of thoughts, then Power Plush discover it as a positive accent in the sky, in the water, in their own everyday life. Over time, the 'blue' feelings give way to new life energy, new self-empowerment, a beginning, a “me without you”. “Blue” is embraced by clear, warm vocals, wrapped in a dream pop timbre and sometimes supported by a choir in the background.