Einstürzende Neubauten
Live a Trento, Teatro Sanbapolis, 3 giugno 2026

THE REVIEW

I hadn't seen Einstürzende Neubauten live for many years and, in the meantime, I hadn't really followed the evolution of their discography all that closely. So I went to the concert with just the right amount of curiosity, no specific expectations, and an openness to being surprised by a band I had loved deeply in the past. Rather than a review built around the setlist—which I couldn't accurately reconstruct anyway—these lines arise from impressions, memories, and feelings from the evening.

The first sensation was rather unusual. Right from the very first notes, the Berlin band's trademark was present: metals, percussion, springs, sound objects, and those industrial sonorities that have always characterized Einstürzende Neubauten. And yet I didn't perceive any chaos. On the contrary, what struck me was the order. It was precisely this feeling that suggested to me the image of a small noise orchestra conducted by Blixa Bargeld. More than a rock band—at least at the start of the show—it felt like witnessing an ensemble where every element had its precise place within a rigorous sonic design.

As the songs progressed, the picture became clearer. What at first seemed like an almost abstract construction began to reveal its internal dynamics. The role of percussionists N.U. Unruh and Rudolf Moser—true architects of that sonic language that continues to set the band apart from any other—emerged with growing strength. Their work is not simply about keeping time: it creates environments, tensions, soundscapes that become an integral part of the composition.

One of the most evident novelties was, of course, Josefine Lukschy, who joined the group after Alexander Hacke’s departure in 2025. Her bass lines contribute decisively to defining Neubauten’s current sound, providing a more pronounced structure and a depth that, perhaps in my memories of past concerts, was less central. Even in terms of stage presence, she stands out naturally: without excesses, but with a poise that makes her one of the onstage points of reference.

For those who saw them in the nineties, it remains strange not to see the scenic presence of F.M. Einheit—a key figure in the more physical and industrial Neubauten imagery. Precisely for this reason, it's striking to see how the band has managed, over time, to build a new balance without merely replicating the past.

It is no coincidence that one of the most successful moments of the evening came during the encores, when Josefine Lukschy put down the bass to join Blixa Bargeld in the “Stella Maris” duet.

Also interesting was the presence of the keyboardist—whose name, unfortunately, I didn’t note—whose contribution introduces hues and nuances I don't immediately associate with the Neubauten I remembered. Some of the sounds and textures seem to belong to a more recent phase of the band’s history and further expand the group’s sonic palette.

At the center of everything, however, remains Blixa Bargeld. Not just because of his role as frontman, but because he continues to be the point where the entire project converges. His voice, used with that controlled theatricality and unmistakable expressiveness that have always characterized him, holds together the band's many souls. Around him moves a group that today appears quite different from the one of the nineties, but that still preserves a strong collective identity.

I left the concert with a very pleasant feeling. Not one of nostalgia, but rather of having found a band that has managed to evolve without denying itself. The Einstürzende Neubauten of today are not the ones I saw for the first time in 1991 in Bolzano, during the “Strategies Against Architecture II” tour, but they still possess that rare ability to transform noise into language and sound into experience.

Making the evening even more unique was the location: the Teatro Sanbàpolis in Trento, where I was entering for the first time. A curious space, with something of the nineties club in the direct relationship with the stage and the wooden floor, but also with that sort of small tier of seats at the back of the hall, which turns it into a hybrid between a club and a theater. An unusual, warm setting, and perfectly suited to a concert like this.