By Tobias Braun 
Danger Dan, born Daniel Pongratz in Aachen and active for years as a member of Antilopen Gang, finally broke through as a solo artist with the 2021 album “Das ist alles von der Kunstfreiheit gedeckt”. Against all expectations, the record was awarded gold and grew into one of the most successful piano albums in German music history. Five years later, the follow-up, “Keine Angst”, has finally been released, recorded together with his brother Panik Panzer, simply at home, with a string quartet from Zurich as the only addition to the otherwise minimalist sound of piano and voice.
Where the previous record still employed a certain detached irony, that layer has now largely disappeared. Danger Dan himself says that there is little room left for jokes, and that can be heard. The opening track “Die meisten meiner Freunde” is an elegiac piano ballad that combines autobiographical memories with an ode to nonconformism, sung in a voice that sounds both calm and restless at the same time. It is immediately clear that this album carries more weight than its predecessor.
“Dass es hier so schön ist” shows another register, with a more light-hearted melody that nevertheless retains a bitter undertone, while “Zum Späti” combines everyday observations with the sharp eye that has always characterised Danger Dan. The title track “Keine Angst” is, at more than seven minutes, the longest and most discussed piece on the record. It had already caused considerable controversy before its release after ZDF cancelled a planned performance by Danger Dan and pianist Igor Levit, giving as the reason that the lyrics could be interpreted as an incitement to violence. The song calls for resistance against right-wing extremism and sounds like a concrete set of instructions, complete with warnings about surveillance cameras and fingerprints. Whether you agree with it or not, it is without doubt the most urgent piece of music Danger Dan has made so far.
Musically, “Keine Angst” is a refinement of what was already established on the debut album. The piano playing sounds more fluid and considered, without becoming virtuosic. Danger Dan resisted the temptation to make it bigger, and that works well. There are no inflated orchestrations or unnecessary backing vocals, only the piano, the voice and lyrics that are direct and to the point. That makes the whole thing intimate, even though it deals with major themes such as fear, resistance and the state of democracy.
It is a record that polarises, and that is precisely the intention. Danger Dan has never shied away from sticking his neck out, and on “Keine Angst” he does so more radically than ever. Anyone looking for comforting songs about love and community will be disappointed here, while those who long for music that engages with public debate get a record that does not let go.
“Keine Angst” is Danger Dan in his purest form, uncomfortable, urgent and musically meticulously crafted. It confirms that he has continued to refine his own genre, somewhere between political chanson and piano ballad, without losing the sharpness that once made him famous. (8/10) (Antilopen Geldwäsche/Warner)
William Brown 
Maxazine South Africa