The legendary
Berlin band Einstürzende Neubauten have returned after more than 12
years with their long-awaited new studio album "Alles In Allem"
It contains ten songs that explore the German capital city that has been home
to the band for the past four decades. "Alles In Allem" is the first
proper Einstürzende Neubauten album following "The Jewells" in 2008,
however, the band did release the World War I concept album "Lament"
in 2014.
The official
promotion synopsis for the album read “An extremely cynical reflection of
the state of the capital, which has become a song, did not make it onto the
album, leaving a hole around which there were far more differentiated debates
with Berlin. So Blixa Bargeld wanders through memories, through dreams,
assembles fragments – and yet it is always about the presence of this
intangible city”.
Their 40th
anniversary album begins with the first single, the moody and jazzy percussive
"Ten Grand Goldie". A typical Neubauten song, with its characteristic
custom-made percussive sounds with various materials. The second track "Am
Landwehrkanal" has a more traditional feel, like a song from older days,
with its singalong style and accordion. Things get more ‘metallic’ with "Möbliertes
Lied", although the tempo is kept low. On top of a metallic percussion and
Blixa’s spoken word a beautiful keyboard brings to it a great atmosphere. The
haunting "Zivilisatorisches Missgeschick" follows, a unique track
filled with both quiet passages and screaming siren outbursts. "Taschen"
that follows is a beautiful low-key piece with melancholy strings. In the same
vein we have "Seven Screws".
The second
single, the title track "Alles In Allem" meaning All In All, was
released during the Corona-virus pandemic quarantine. A stylish and
cinematically moody piece, is surely a standout, featuring crooning surreal
lyrics with Blixa’s baritone voice. The album continues in a quite tone with "Grazer
Damm" and "Wedding" that slightly climaxes with the repeatedly
singing of the of the song’s name, a district of the city of Berlin. The album
closes with "Tempelhof", another a district of Berlin and name of its
old airport. Again, we have a gentle piece of music, almost cinematic, with more
strings, harps and Blixa’s almost whispering vocals.
The unique sound
and textual landscapes of the band reveal the timelessness that members Blixa
Bargeld, N. U. Unruh, Alexander Hacke, Jochen Arbeit and Rudolph Moser have
continuously maintained. Their ongoing sound research, combining edgy sound
with sophisticated poetry, through experimental approaches to songwriting, has
provided us with yet another great piece of work, mature as the band itself has
matured gracefully.
Review by Nick
Drivas
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