Tokio Hotel – 'Encore' review: Big feelings, little that's new
Four years after '2001', the Kaulitz brothers and co. return with twelve new songs. Critics are lukewarm: cleanly produced pop-rock that stays inside its comfort zone.
Photo: promiflash.de / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Single video: YouTube · Tokio Hotel · youtube.com
Single: Memory Lane
Tokio Hotel released their new album 'Encore' on Believe on 16 October – four years after '2001'. The twelve songs include the previously released singles 'Memory Lane', 'Without You', 'Changes', 'California Nights' and 'Dye My Hair'. Guitarist Tom Kaulitz described the record on the band's podcast as 'back to the roots Tokio Hotel, but of course a bit more modern for 2026'. According to the Berliner Zeitung, the video for 'Memory Lane' was shot at Berlin's Ballhaus Wedding.
Reviews are mixed. Musikexpress writer Rebecca Spilker praises 'Changes' and 'Without You' as cleanly produced and can already picture the live pyrotechnics for 'Shout 2 The Universe', but calls the album pathos-laden pop that stays in its comfort zone: 'This is mainstream.' Plattentests.de gives it 4 out of 10, calling it bland and average with a few good moments such as 'Without You', 'Wanderlust' and 'Dye My Hair'. The Berliner Zeitung finds 'Encore' more cohesive than its predecessor, with the contrast between glossy sound and lyrics about drinking and hidden sorrow the most interesting part.
The band presents the album live at Berlin's Velodrom on 25 October, followed by an arena tour with stops including Hamburg (1 November), Frankfurt (5 November), Berlin (7 November, Uber Arena), Nuremberg (8 November), Zurich (10 November), Leipzig (13 November), Vienna (15 November), Munich (16 November) and Düsseldorf (19 November).