The three ladies (or Drei Damen) behind ‘Venus in the Backyard’ - singer Lisa Wahlandt, pianist Andrea Hermenau and bassist Christiane Öttl - playfully mix jazz with pop music across a number of unusual covers and one original song. The album is airy, like a breeze, but also earthy, grooving and swinging, and works well in the stripped down line-up of three voices, piano and bass. Since 2013 they have thrilled their audiences with their jazzy songs. After the debut album in 2014, which was in Bavarian and German the master musicians have now focused on English-language hits and each of them has contributed to “Venus in the Backyard”, an original omposition. The covers range from the classic Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer song “One for my Baby” from the ‘40s, to George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun”, to Cindy Lauper’s ‘80s hit “Time after Time” to Bruno Mars’ “Count on Me” from 2010. Current pop songs are freed from the excessive production ballast and come as weightless chansons such as, Jessie J’s “Price Tag”. Ed Sheeran’s “Love Yourself”, on the other hand, gets really groovy with Fender Rhodes and the added percussion of guest musician and drummer Gabriel Hahn.