T. Raumschmiere

Blitzkrieg Pop (Mute)
by Lex Marburger

I know, he’s supposed to be the new big thing in electronica-whatever, but what are we supposed to do with what he’s given us? Blitzkrieg Pop starts out with “All Systems Go,” a pseudo-industrial shuffle, all lo-fi synths and repetition, which pretty much sets you up for the rest of the album. Analog electric tweaking, with some guest vocals along the way. The mood is dark, which is nice, and the beats do more than untz-untzing away, giving it bonus points from me, but for all its high-end buzzing and twitching, Blitzkreig Pop lacks a solid foundation. Not to put it delicately, it needs balls. It almost could fit in with the rivetheads, but there’s just not enough “oomph” here. And even though I’m sure he likes the immovable stiffness of sequencers, the songs aren’t allowed to breathe, except in the vocal, which sets up an unpleasant dichotomy of man and machine. Not unpleasant in a good way, not the “relishing in the discomfort of the music” feeling you sometimes get with, say, Aphex Twin. Not to say Blitzkreig Pop doesn’t have it’s moments, such as “Der Grottenolm,” a slow, creepy almost-dub that seem to be constantly on the verge of falling apart, while never straying from its incessant march forward. Sadly, moments like this come few and far between, which means you’ll soon be able to find this CD on the shelves of my local second-hand record store.
(www.nute.com)