Einstürzende Neubauten
Perpetuum Mobile

THE REVIEW

Air Compressors

Berlin's Einstürzende Neubauten are sound terrorists who, during the 1980s, brought a decisive stylistic shift to the musical coordinates in the industrial zone. During their early fiery live performances, they stunned both the audience and critics with their use of industrial materials and scrap as sound instruments: barrels, iron bars, saw blades, chains, metal plates, oil drums, aluminum sheets, concrete, glass, plastic, and various household appliances, all recycled into devastating musical applications.

The impact of this original and consistent way of conceiving industrial music springs from a florilegium of obsessive rhythms by Rudi Moser and Andrew Chudy, driven by the deep and visceral bass of Alexander Hacke. A bomber-style rhythm section accompanied by Jochen Arbeit's guitar—hypnotic, sharp, often jangling—and the flamboyant interpretive charisma of singer Blixa Bargeld, an enigmatically sulfurous character also known for his (now former) membership in Nick Cave's Bad Seeds. This band is perhaps one of the few in Central Europe to have a vast legion of aficionados worldwide (countless in Italy), despite the difficulty of the language—German—with which Bargeld primarily expresses himself.

Precisely thanks to the affection of fans, as well as the urgency to emancipate themselves from the totalitarian control of today's music business, for the ninth work of their 25-year career, PERPETUUM MOBILE, Einstürzende decided to produce everything themselves and open a community on the web (www.neubauten.org), through which they can interact directly with the public; indeed, during the conception of PERPETUUM MOBILE, supporters registered on the site were able to express their opinions. Bargeld himself states that it was arduous to "accept" the criticisms and evaluations from the public, even though some of them were a great cause for reflection.

Result? A fascinating album—albeit less impetuous and massive than previous works—boiling, oscillating, paradoxically "airy".
It's no coincidence that this last definition: air from the powerful compressors in the hands of Moser and Chudy that punctuate the atmospheres of many tracks (including the beautiful Ozean Und Brandung), air in the lyrics and the mature voice of Bargeld (Youme And Meyou, Dead Friends Around The Corner and Paradiesseits), air in the rare electronic interventions intricately woven into the melodic textures, air in metals struck like Tibetan gongs (Grundstück), air in wind instruments and violins.

Wind in perpetual motion.

This time the industrial clangor is hinted at in an elegant and sleek manner, exploring territories I would dare to define as almost "ambient." However, there are three tracks of classic "metallurgical" setup: Ein Seltener Vogel, Selbstportrait mit Kater (here, a colossal Blixa) and the imposing title track.

A work not simple, but neither harsh: listened to once, it compels you to press play again, inexorably captivated and bewildered. For me, it is already one of the albums of the year.