Caudal | 2016 | Let's All Take the Yellow Pills

Space | Post-Rock
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Aidan Baker (guitar), Gareth Sweeney (bass) and Felipe Salazar (drums)

After the unexpected twist that the Murk EP meant within Caudal's discography, it was worth asking what the next step of the Berlin trio would be. In that record, which was released last year, the band ventured into more lugubrious grounds than those of their previous albums, Forever in Another World and Ascension, which were tinged with space atmospheres and an undeniable kraut spirit. Thus, while in the latter Caudal's sound came close to the likes of NEU!, Agitation Free or even Ataxia, Murk's crypticism evoked Aidan Baker's work in Nadja at times.
Let's All Take the Yellow Pills –soon to be published by Calostro Recordings– unambiguously dispels all the questions. Returning to the hypnotic, space post-rock from before, Caudal seem to be back on the path from which they had diverted for an instant to experiment with a new formula. Thereby, and without hesitation, the band undertakes a journey through three pieces that confirm that Baker, Sweeney and Salazar speak the same language; one of outstanding originality, something that had already showed up in their previous releases. The atmospheres in Let's All Take... are patiently intertwined through a subtle and always heartwarming instrumental development that gradually shapes delicate, dreamy soundscapes that drive the listener into an introspective trip for which the pristine honesty of Caudal’s sound constitutes the perfect soundtrack. Another excellent release by the plurinational trio. —IMF

El diAblo es un magnífico | 2013 | El diAblo es un magnífico

Experimental | Post-Rock
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Cristian Sánchez, Daniel Llermaly and Cristóbal Cornejo

This Chilean band has been active for more than a decade, but in their last album they have reinvented themselves like never before, leaving behind a particular –yet somewhat shuttered– branch of post-rock/post-hardcore, towards a more eclectic sound, albeit without losing their identity and cohesion. Although this self-titled album was recorded in 2013 and released in CDr/digipack format in 2014, Volante Discos re-released it in tape format just this year.
One of the natural reasons behind the reinvention of diAblo's sound –notice, as well, that they have readopted their original moniker, El diAblo es un magnífico ("The Devil is magnificent"), quoting the hidden satanic message found in Xuxa's tapes– is the lineup change, which evolved from a quintet into a trio, consisting of Cristian Sánchez (founding member), Daniel Llermaly (La Golden Acapulco) and the recently deceased Cristóbal Cornejo –this review is obviously written in his memory. Whereas in their previous records (Seiseiseis, Coma, La ruta nos aportó otro paso natural, etc.) diAblo always developed an experimental kind of post-rock, hard to classify, yet with a proper identity, in this album they return, to some extent, to their more chaotic roots (Proyecto Cajas), and produce a sound with more varied influences, away from any specific genre; the band rather develops their own style, which plays with diverse influences and moods.
Thus, this begins with "Chamico (Nazi Folk Fuck Off)", a song with Afro-latin rhythms that somehow reveals an influence of The Ex, but without resorting to blatant imitation. This is, no doubt, the most accessible track in the album, which then turns to more minimalist sounds that show a remarkable natural dynamic, without losing melody. "Navidad y Matanza" (which is also the name of Cristian Sánchez's solo project) is one of my favorites, inasmuch as it delivers a melancholic folk-sonic hybrid resorting to (Chilean) Northern-folklore instrumentation, thus providing this trip with depth and emotionality, as well as with humility and heart (diAblo had not composed something as moving as this since Julio). The journey continues with "Asunción y Caída de las Ruinas Suspendidas", which begins with a sound close to that of diAblo's previous works, due to its having post-rock elements, just as "Chamico"; after a few minutes, however, it explodes into the roar of distorted guitars, into a sludge-metal riff surrounded by more atmospheric guitars and sonic frolics. With a more peaceful and luminous mood, "Polen" consists in five minutes of acoustic guitars dressed with space electronics. For its part, "Chivito Negro de Cinco Patas" is an energetic track, in which dancing drums (again with an ethno-punk feel à la The Ex) constitute a basis over which playful space noises take place, contrasting with a drone bass –krautrock in the vein of NEU! might be another reference as well. Then, suddently but naturally, dreadlocks emerge and we are taken into the grounds of dub (an genre revered by La Golden Acapulco), from which –suddently and naturally too– we depart towards a hardcore explosion, which vanishes in the fields of ambient drone. The last track of the album, "Curanderos Filipinos", is a mild and hypnotic lull of just over a minute, in which a Northern rhythm (?) is irrigated with field recordings and exotic winds (some sort of zampoña).
This is, undoubtedly, my favorite album by diAblo (along with Projecto Cajas), and to some extent, one of my favorite albums recorded in Chile, not only due to my sympathy for their sounds, but also due to the sonic-musical "decisions", both reckless and natural, that one finds throughout this record and which transform it into a unique piece, with vague references and a proper style, which transmits honesty and humility. —Michel Leroy

Cluster | 2016 | Konzerte 1972/1977

Experimental | Drone | Ambient
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Certainly, a good portion of the interest surrounding the 1971-1981 box set, recently released by Bureau B, lied upon Konzerte 1972/1977, the ninth album in this collection, consisting of previously unreleased live recordings of Cluster. Particularly, the album contains two tracks: one recorded in 1972 in Hamburg, Germany, and the other recorded in 1977 in Metz, France.
If one takes the duo's discography as a benchmark, the fact that Cluster's sound is so similar in both tracks might be odd. In 1972, the band released Cluster II, so, although that album already incorporated more melodic sounds than Cluster 71, the highly experimental approach that shows up in "Fabrik, Hamburg 1972" is not unexpected. By contrast, in 1977 Cluster had already published Zuckerzeit –a pivotal milestone in their discography, with a decidedly more melodic sound than its predecessors–, Sowiesoso and Cluster & Eno –albums that, albeit more ambient-oriented, persisted in that direction–, such that "Festival International de la Science-Fiction, Metz 1977" might be surprising.
Nevertheless, in the first place, the duo's various live albums –Live in Vienna (which was omitted from this collection, strangely), Japan 1996 Live, First Encounter Tour 1996 and Berlin 07– already reflected the fact that Cluster's live performances followed their own path, parallel to their studio work. In fact, the one element that characterizes those live records is, precisely, their undeniably experimental spirit. Secondly (and nuancing what I have just said), throughout the band's trajectory that exploratory character did show a clear evolution, which looms out in the two tracks that form Konzerte 1972/1977. Thus, whereas in Hamburg the sonic ramblings were more erratic and multiform, in Metz Roedelius and Moebius (RIP) already had developed their own language, a peerless telepathy that enabled them to build the hypnotic and meditative atmospheres so unique of Cluster's sound in a much more conscientious and pacient manner.
Beyond its collecting value, Konzerte 1972/1977 is an album which, like much of Cluster's discography, conceals behind its cryptic nature an artistic value that does not show up just like that, but that is certainly there. The sonic sensitivity and the inextinguishable creativity of Roedelius and Moebius's society are as pronounced here as in any other point of their vast trajectory, and recordings like this just confirm to what extent Cluster's immesurable legacy has been underrated, a fact to which the inalienable modesty of both musicians certainly contributed.
Cluster may have come to an end, but that creative spirit, that soul of exuberant emotivity and honesty glows as alive as ever in the music the duo produced across its almost four decades of sonic alchemy, and Konzerte 1972/1977 is yet another reminder of that. —IMF

NEU! | 1975 | NEU! '75

Krautrock
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Michael Rother (guitar, piano, vocals, synthesizer, electronica), Klaus Dinger (guitar, piano, vocals, percussion, organ), Thomas Dinger (drums), Hans Lampe (drums)

In late 1974, Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger were not newbies anymore. NEU! had already released two essential records (Dinger had also played on Kraftwerk's self-titled debut), after which the duo undertook divergent paths for a few years.
Rother fled from the agitation of urban life in Düsseldorf and moved to an old rural house along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius from Cluster. With them, he formed Harmonia, whose debut, Musik von Harmonia, was recorded in the second half of 1973. The new trio would be characterized by its pastoral, restful and dreamy sound, which owed a lot to Cluster's ambient, yet not leaving aside Rother's melodic vocation, which would in turn leave a mark on the Berliners.
On the other hand, Klaus Dinger founded Dingerland, a music label through which he released Lilac Angel's debut album, which he had also produced, in 1973. However, his endeavor would prove financially disastrous, so that shortly after –and in spite of Dinger's consternation– Dingerland was forced to close. Thereafter, the idea emerged of forming La Düsseldorf along with his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe, a sound technician in Conny Plank's legendary studios (Plank had produced NEU!'s first two albums).
This was the context in which Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger would reunite: whereas Rother was submerged in the peaceful and introspective rural life, Dinger was enraged against the music industry and the elussive success that was taking so long to arrive. NEU! '75 would be exactly the result of such dicotomy. The duo agreed to devote the first half of the album to Rother's vision, tinged with a more ethereal and spiritual sonic quest, and the second half to Dinger's vision, effervescent of an energy that was both creative and destructive, owing to the ups and downs that he had had to face. The result of this dynamics was one of the most classic krautrock albums ever, in which NEU! managed to reformulate their sound without leaving behind the lessons learned in NEU! and NEU! 2, but at the same time introducing the new languages for which Rother and Dinger were advocating, each one from a different standpoint.

"Isi" opens up the first half of the album with the same formula that "Hallogallo" and "Für Immer" had applied in the records that preceded NEU! 75: hypnotic and dynamic motorik, which this time, however, appears nuanced by Michael Rother's greater sonic delicacy. "Seeland" and "Leb' Wohl" then confirm the new spirit, being two of the most beautiful and fragile songs in NEU!'s discography, with an atmospheric, romantic character à la Caspar David Friedrich, not uncommon in Rother's solo works. Conversely, "Hero" bursts into the scene carelessly with an energic and, at this stage, legendary proto-punk, with the undeniable mark of an explosive-as-usual Klaus Dinger. "E-Musik" follows this path, albeit closer to NEU!'s usual sound, while "After Eight" closes the album with a new electrifying and liberating proto-punk burst. The perfect closer for an undeniable masterpiece, for an album that would close NEU!'s original trilogy on a high note and that would guarantee the duo's trascendence, its influence until our days and an indelible legend within music history. —IMF

Un Festín Sagital | 2014 | Etna

Space | Experimental Rock

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Michel Leroy (guitar, organ, waves, theremin, drums), Constanza Lagos (flute, organ), Fernando Pinto (bass) and Diego Pinto (drums, guitar)

Etna could be considered, without doubt, the easiest point of entry to Un Festín Sagital's discography. On the one hand, its sound, without leaving the band's experimental vocation behind, ventures without fear into the exploration of psychedelic, lethargic landscapes; a trip that puts the album among UFS' most digestible works.
But what's interesting about the album is not only its accessibility. On the other hand, the combination of this space facet with Un Festín Sagital's more habitual avant-prog makes Etna an entertaining, well-conceived album, with a compositional quality at the level of the other releases of the band and a stronger performance than ever. Although eclectic, it has its own spirit and each track fits perfectly in its place, contributing from a particular flank to the developing of an hypnotic, captivating atmosphere. The album wanders without difficulty between lysergic pieces such as "Árboles Negros" (a song that had been recorded before) or "Anubis: Sueño y Muerte", the kraut of "Lakonn" and the intense "Etna", and the more experimental passages of "Acéfalo" or the cryptic "Asesino del Sol III", closer to Festín's distinctive avant-prog.
Etna perfectly summarizes the fact that Un Festín Sagital can explore anywhere they want without stumbling, always reaching outstanding results. Their discography as a whole is a living proof of that, and Etna constitutes one of the key pieces within that exceptional binnacle. Another must-hear Un Festín Sagital album. —IMF

Stereolab | 1993 | Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements

Krautrock | Art Pop | Post-Rock

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Laetitia Sadier (vocals, organ, others), Mary Hansen (vocals, tambourine, guitar), Tim Gane (guitar, organ, others), Sean O'Hagan (organ, Farfisa, guitar), Duncan Brown (bass, guitar, vocals) and Andy Ramsay (percussion, organ, bouzouki)

Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements is an album that combines an almost decidedly pop sensitivity with the hypnotic volatility of krautrock. Without hesitation, Stereolab wanders from simple indie melodies such as "I'm Going Out Of My Way" –which, by the way, don't leave the german influences aside– to epic motorik deliria such as "Golden Ball" or "Jenny Ondioline". In sum, all this multiform variety of mellow but deep melodies constitute a powerful album, beautiful and delicately lysergic, in which Lætitia Sadier's sweet voice builds a trance fed by perfect synthesizers, space drums and an evident (but subtle) experimental vocation. In other words, they form an album that gives new life to krautrock without selling it to a commercial sound, but nourishing it with a dreamy, harmonious sensitivity. —IMF