Throughout their 44-year career, Einstürzende Neubauten has upheld a commitment to making musical art, with little interest in vapid radio hits. They continue this tradition with Rampen (Mute Records). As one of the first industrial bands, it could be easily argued that the genre owes more to these guys than Throbbing Gristle.

The album title refers to their live improvisations which are sonically evident in the ten-minute tapestry of the sounds with which they intend to craft what the band calls “alien pop music”. They have excelled at capturing the experimental elements of their live shows, and if that is what alien pop music is, fans should be on board. Their theories for using music to communicate with other beings are not unfounded. They tap into vibrational frequencies to project into parallel universes, the interzones lying in between worlds. This makes perfect sense as they are crafting vibrational frequencies here.

In this quest, they show many sides of who they are as a band: they are not the same young angsty punks of 1980, so some of the more aggressive tendencies are dialed back, so do not expect a great deal of yelling. From jamming surprisingly organic grooves to the second song, which is also the lead single, that goes in the direction of an old slave spiritual. This song is just one of the album’s many moments that require several listens to absorb.

“Pestalozzi’ feels like Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, never have I heard Germans sound so British. After that, they turn around and prove they are Germans with “Es koente sein ” which is a spaced-out neo-folk of sorts. This is where the album feels like they are more into sounds than songs, as this continues “Before I Go” finds the project back in Syd Barrett’s acid-laced zip code.

“Isso Isso” has more groove to its somewhat more solemn mood. The album as a whole is more contemplative than confrontational. “Besser Isses” is jammed out similarly to the opening track, but performed more intentionally.

“Everything Will Be Fine” sounds more like what you might expect from these guys if you were expecting something more on their droning experimental side. “The Pit of Language” tries to be more of a song, but drones on one melody, for what they do this works. “Planet Umbra” sprawls into a nine-minute ebb and flow through a throbbing mix of kraut rock and dub. “Tar and Feathers” is more ambient and does less for me.

“Aus Den Zeiten”  hypnotizes with a gradual build. The vocals are mostly spoken, yet the song is dynamic  amid its drone. Most of this album works off an ambient and minimalist noise vibe. They move this minimalism in a more folk direction for “Trilobiten ” as the percussion is reduced to barely patterned beneath it. it.

The last song finds them dousing the instrumentation in a bleak atmosphere even thicker, though it does not have the dynamics of other songs on this album. This album shows the range they cover, it captures where they have arrived as a band well. This album leans toward the more droning minimalist side of what the band does, but there is also more organic grooving than you might expect. Overall this album serves as a solid testimony to their lengthy career. This is a suitable entry point for any into their unpredictable world of avant-garde grooves.

Buy the album here:
https://shop-neubauten.org/en/onlineshop-einstuerzende-neubauten/

9 / 10
WIL CIFER