LÜGER

Great Spanish psych!

This is the second album of Lüger, a Spanish band with a clear tendency to the psychedelic side of progressive rock. Since their debut self-titled album I was really interested in their music and wanted to follow their future works, so last year, they released "Concrete Light" which actually happens to be a live album, though when I listen to it I would swear it is a studio one due to the precision offered in their performance. This album features six songs that make a total time of 32 minutes. Actually, if there is something I would argue is that the album is pretty short, I believe they could have included a couple of tracks more.

It opens with "Monkeys Everywhere", which is actually a killer first track. I love its repetitiveness but how is it little by little getting us into their fictional world, I mean, while the seconds pass the music becomes part of us and let us have a trip with it, putting some images and colors in our minds. I like the bass sound a lot, and of course, the keyboard work which is crucial in my opinion. Then all of a sudden we are now listening to "Dracula's chauffeur wants more", whose first minute is repetitive and soft but then it explodes and becomes faster and heavier, making a nice combination of psychedelic rock with even some punk reminiscences. The synth work is great, putting the best atmospheres, the guitars and bass are also cool, and the vocals nice, reminding me a bit of The Music or even Jane's Addiction (in some way).

"Hot Stuff" starts with some drums and electronic effects, seconds later a repetitive bass joins and then new atmospheric synths can be appreciated. The structure does not actually change, I mean, the song maintains the same rhythm during its five minutes, but the good thing here are the elements the band is adding while the seconds pass, and we can better appreciate them if we listen to it with nice headphones.

"Shirokovsky Pallasite I and II" is a two-part song that reaches nine minutes together. The first part is the shortest one; it softly starts with keyboards and then is progressing, first with bass lines and then with a wonderful drums playing. I want to emphasize that the work of the drummer in this particular track is excellent. There is a moment with a slice change, where synth adds new atmospheres, in that moment is when the second part begins. The music keeps flowing, it is mesmerizing and hypnotizing, once you let it enter, you will not escape from this psych realm. In this second part vocals also join later.

The album finishes with "Zwischenspiel/quidquid latet apparebit" which seems to be the calmest of them all. It has an oriental flavor due to the sitar sound, which shows the ethnical side of Lüger. Here I remember some older krautrock acts such as Dzyan or Agitation Free. After three minutes the song changes a little bit, showing a raw sound that contrasts with the delicate sitar. Then it progresses and becomes more and more intense until it finishes.

This is a pretty nice album by Lüger, with the same high quality as their self-titled one, the only problem I have here, as I previously mentioned, is that it is too short. Anyway, the music deserves itself four solid stars.

Enjoy it!

After reviewing Lüger's first album and finding it very interesting, it seemed to me that I would be a fool not to pick up and review this one as well. The album notes on the group's bandcamp state that this album was recorded live, which is really very impressive to me given the precision with which these tracks are played. Expect much of the same kind of sound that appeared on Lüger's first album, and while "Concrete Light" falls a bit short of that first effort to my ears, it's still a worthwhile listen from an extremely interesting group.

"Monkeys everywhere" begins the album, and it sounds like it would have fit in very well on Lüger's first release. Distorted guitars, spacey yet intense vocals, and of course very electronic sounding keyboards recall exactly the sort of "prog-electronica-punk" that featured so heavily on their debut. The song does a nice job transitioning between motifs, with the primary driving chant of the song's title augmented by sections of simple electronic melodies and brief forays into more melodic vocal lines. All the while the guitar keeps chugging along in the background, giving the song a consistent rhythmic background that works very well with the often repetition-based style of music Lüger is playing.

"Monkeys everywhere" fades out to nothing but drumming, which continues into the beginning of "Dracula's chauffeur wants more." Additional percussion parts are added onto the main beat to create a compelling percussion base for the track before yet another electronic motif begins playing over it, soon to be augmented by the guitars again. When vocals I can't help but hear some reminiscence to punk music again; while this is much better arranged and composed than most punk I've heard, the driving, repeated guitar riffs do make some references to that genre, in my opinion. Some guitar solos stand out in the track, but unfortunately I think that this second track sounds very much like the first one, a fact which is aggravated by the song's nearly 7 minute run-time. Towards the end of the track it switches into a more unique motif, with the driving riffs exchanged for distorted drones, but on the whole it does seem kind of repetitive.

"Hot Stuff" follows, beginning with some percussion and some electronic effects that have a very "glitch music" feel to them. Bass is added over this, and keyboards soon make an appearance as well, though they're adding a different feel then they have in previous tracks; more Terry Riley-esque ambience than Kraftwerk loop. The guitars also take on a bit of a different role, with a spacier, more psychedelic tone instead of the riffing of the previous two tracks. The track operates on a sort of modular structure, with the backbone of the track always staying the same and additional sounds being layered atop it, but it never sounds overly repetitive or boring. It's also the first track on the album without vocals, but it never lags on account of this. Hot Stuff indeed.

"Shirokovsky pallasite I" begins with something that sounds like a distorted harpsichord before drums and bass add a funky rhythmic line. An acid-washed guitar solo is added over this, creating a fascinating combination of sounds and genres that still blends together into a nearly seamless mix of sound. The guitars really shine on the track, spiraling off into a mad, howling solo towards the end of the track before transitioning into "Shirokovsky pallasite II" which continues the motifs of the first part of the track while adding a harder edge. Vocals make their entry in part II as well, with possibly the best vocal melodies of the album making their appearance here. The vocalist belts out his part with a kind of intensity unmatched by any of the earlier tracks, and the wall of sound behind him is unrelenting, building in intensity while maintaining the themes of "Shirokovsky pallasite I." The end of the track is especially impressive, with the drums going absolutely crazy as the pounding guitars lead the march to the end of the song.

"Zwischenspiel/Quidquid latet apparebit" begins with some droning, distorted electronic sound before some almost folky sounding guitar (or at the very least folkier than anything else on the album) comes in. Organ makes an appearance as well, along with a rather eastern sounding keyboard part. This motif carries on for over three minutes, which is a bit too long for it to sustain itself, in my opinion. At about the halfway point the theme abruptly switches, maintaining the eastern feel but adding more prominent percussion, changing the melody of the guitar and adding a different keyboard part. Unfortunately, this part too just sort of repeats without really going anywhere different, amounting to, in my opinion, a rather overly repetitive track which is only minorly redeemed by a noisy solo towards the end of the track.

Unfortunately, the version of the album I have (which was downloaded from the group's bandcamp page) does not contain the seventh track listed above, "Belldrummer Motherf**ker," so I can't comment on it.

Overall, though, "Concrete Light" is a good follow up to Lüger eponymous debut, even if it doesn't shake up the formula of that album too much. Fans of that one will almost certainly like this one, though if you're just discovering the band I'd recommend starting with their debut, as in my opinion it has a bit more variety and it's a little tighter than "Concrete Light." This is still an interesting blend of styles, though, and anyone looking for contemporary, genre-bending progressive music would be remiss to pass this one up.

3/5

This is another band that I know next to nothing about, Lüger being another random forum discovery that turned out well. This self-titled album is an incredibly unique, original affair, incorporating elements of many different genres yet not solidly fitting into any of them completely. Moving from drifting soundscapes to crunchy riffs, this is a fascinating album and certainly one that deserves a listen.

"Spotted Introspective Female Firecracker" begins the album on a very spacey note- the whole track is basically a soundscape, blending your typical sedate, psychedelic noises with some slightly jarring electronic effects. It's a great blend of sound, but, while it's certainly not boring, 6.5 minutes is a bit long in my mind for this track, just from an album pacing standpoint, especially when the track is labeled as an intro.

"Swastika Sweetheart" begins seamlessly from the closing sounds of this intro, and immediately takes a more driven, uptempo, rhythmic direction than did its predecessor. Making great use of some psychedelic guitar and synth laid over insistent drums and electronic back-beat, the song establishes a pattern that gets kicked into overdrive about two minutes in, with the percussion growing more frenetic and the guitars amping up the distortion. Over this noisy yet precisely controlled music the album's first vocals enter, taking a surprisingly melodic lead given how the album started off. This song sounds painfully obtuse while simultaneously managing to be very accessible, with a veritable miasma of sound coalescing into an incredibly compelling, almost poppy sounding song. Great stuff.

"Die Sonne muss untergehen!" follows, setting a calmer mood with some percussion, synths and bass atmosphere that has a slightly eastern sound to it. Some string sounds make some more noise on top of this for a while before the arrangement opens up a little bit and the track takes on a more melodic motif. This section of the track has a very hypnotic feel to it, making the listener feel like he or she is floating through space. That's a very cliché thing to say about psychedelic music but this track by Lüger is one of the first I've heard that I think the descriptor legitimately applies to. A great example of a track built around a repetitive motif but manages to create a final product in which every moment feels totally original and fresh.

"Bedlam in a sugar plum fairy reception (excerpt)" starts off with some percussion before some guitar and some off kilter, (very) slightly dissonant wordless vocals enter as well. Some kind of keyboard joins in almost immediately and the guitar takes the lead as primary melodic instrument. The keyboards get their chance at this role in the end of song, as the vocals drop out and the song closes in a mass of arrangement; with every instrument doing something totally different to create a sonic whole.

"Why Should I Care" switches back to a more riff-based structure, and the addition of vocals ensures that this is a far more conventional track than either of the previous two were. That said, the band still manages to pack quite a bit of sound into their music, and there are synths aplenty supplementing the drum and guitar backbone of the track. "Why Should I Care" sacrifices a bit of the abstract musical construction that the previous tracks had, but it does so in favor of stronger melodic presence, which in my opinion is an excellent decision that helps the pacing of the album immensely.

"Portrait of a Distant Look" has a very similar feel to "Swastika Sweetheart," as it starts off with a repetitive electronic back beat and adds other sounds and vocals on top of that. This is the music Kraftwerk would make if they decided to be a punk band- there are definite elements of Kraftwerk-esque electronic sequencing, but the other instruments (especially drum and bass) add such an intensity to the song that "Portrait of a Distant Look" is far from the slick, often mechanical tunes of that band. It's a fascinating juxtaposition of styles, made even more interesting by the end section, which manages to keep the feel of the rest of the song while also throwing in some more tripped out, hurtling-through-space synths.

"La fin absolue du monde" closes off the album in a similar vein, combining frenetic pseudo- electronica with guitars ripped straight from the acid-washed 60s. Electronically modified vocals only add to the madness, and for the rest of its duration the song takes various turns into spacey jams, synth solos and everything else you could possibly want from your electro- psych-prog.

So, while I personally feel it begins on a bit of a slow note, Lüger's self-titled album ends up being a very good one, blending electronica with alt-rock and progressive psychedelia in new and interesting ways. It's not often that I get to say this but, aside from some very brief resemblances to Kraftwerk, I really can't think of another band tha sounds like Lüger. Accessible yet incredibly dense, noisy and yet surprisingly melodic, this is a far cry from 70s prog but it's certainly progressive rock in a literal sense.

4/5

Note: There is a digital version of this album available that is only 6 tracks long - the seventh track (Belldrummer Mother[%*!#]er) is not on it. This is the version of the album I shall be reviewing.

Psychadelic/Space rock is one of the harder genres for me to write reviews of because a lot of my favorite albums in the genre are actually rather similar in sound. Ultimately what it comes down to is that sometimes a band does it right, and sometimes they do it wrong, but it's easy for a review to come down to, "Oh, I like this song and I like that song" - something that is rarely informative in helping others determine whether or not they too will like the album.

But man, I love every single song on this album. And its rating pretty much rides exclusively on that one fact.

The music here is (as expected) drums bass guitar keys, and vocals on some tracks. We've got just the right amount of distortion, the vocals are just distorted enough, the music is catchy and at 30 minutes, this album will not tire you out. (You may even listen to it multiple times in a row sometimes!)

The hooks start in the opening track, which you're pretty much guaranteed to like on the name alone - "Monkeys Everywhere!". This is also the main lyric to the song, being repeated multiple times throughout, with some other lyrics that I can't make out but that do help the music. The guitars and keys are appropriately psyched out and there's even a couple quick instrumental breaks to help liven things up.

I just love the fuzzed out tone of the guitar and the reverb on this album, it works perfectly with what the music is doing. And underneath the drums and the bass provide the perfect foundation to hold it all together.

If the vocals aren't your thing, then don't worry, for there are a fair amount of instrumental tracks on this album, including the excellent "Hot Stuff" (which reminds me somewhat of German Psych/Space act Sula Bassana's 2009 album "The Night") and the more ethnic-tinged closer "Zwischenspiel/Quidquid Late Apparebit".

Overall a superb slice of psychadelic rock that must be heard (and available for free download from the bands bandcamp page!)

The self-titled debut release by modern krautrockers Lüger is a fantastic amalgamation of obvious influence from previous popular krautrock groups, such as Can, Amon Düül II, and Faust. I particularly get a strong Faust impression from the sounds of the electronics used on this recording, but a strong Neu! impression from the great energy. Occasionally, the music gives off a Jefferson Airplane feel, but not too often.

Because this album is modern, and has been recorded on more sophisticated equipment, this album initially felt much heavier than the earlier krautrock, giving off kind of a krautrock meets '90s Seattle grunge sound. But really, this album is very much spot-on with the early krautrock sound. The electronic wails mix fantastically with the slightly-punk attitude and percussive energy. This album, like others in the krautrock genre, is loud and noisy, but it all comes together and is a great delight.

This group is fantastic and young, and I definitely hope to hear more from them in the future. Even though this album is a great example of modern krautrock and most likely will be enjoyable to fans of the genre, I see great potential in ability to really draw out more experimental sounds on later releases. This free download is very highly recommended.

Fresh psychedelic krautrock from Spain!

It is not so common to listen to a Spanish band with some kraut influences, but Lüger does it and so well. Once again I took advantage of the internet facility and downloaded for free their self-titled debut album from their website (it is also available via last.fm) and since the first listen I felt impressed and enjoyed what I heard.

This young band released their first album in this 2010, so we can expect more from them in the near future, at least I do. The eponymous features seven compositions and a total time of 37 minutes. It kicks off with "Spotted Introspective Female Firecracker" whose electronic sound reminds me to some seventies acts such as Tangerine Dream or Heldon. This song is a bit slow and may take a couple of minutes to get used to it, and you better wait, because the next ones are better.

"Swastika Sweetheart" will make you move your head and open the gates to the psychedelic realm. Though the music could be repetitive, you will not feel bored, on the other hand that repetitiveness will cause an addiction and you will enjoy the whole song. Here there are vocals in English, and to be honest it reminds me a bit of Kula Shaker.

"Die Sonne Muss Untergehen!" shows that strong German influence they have, if you had a doubt about their label as a kraut-rock band, then you here will understand why. This is another interesting instrumental track whose first two minutes are again repetitive but addictive, in a mid-tempo time it starts to grow just before minute three. I love the guitars and keyboard sound, they put several elements during the whole song which make it better. The last minute is stronger, and the addition of drums makes it powerful.

"Bedlam in a Sugar Plum Fairy Reception" is the shortest track with less than three minutes. It gives the sensation of joy, I imagine people cheering in the street. Nice short song, of course, not the best. "Why Should I Care?" reminds me to the second track, that evident psychedelic feeling has been placed here once again, the keyboards and raw guitars are excellent, bass and drums also play their role, and vocals are pretty nice, I really enjoy it.

"Portrait of a Distant Look" is another excellent track that follows that psych/kraut path that Lüger's music suggests. The keyboard sound all over the song is amazing, but it is worth mentioning the addictive bass sound that never disappears and maintains the music in the same line. The vocals are good again, and after a short stop, just before minute three the song becomes even better. It is probably my favorite from this album. Excellent!

Finally, "La Fin Absolue Du Monde" , i know, after singing in English and having a previous song with a German title, now the finish with one french titled song, I don't really know why that three language mix, but it is not really important when the music is great. This is a faster song with a peculiar sound, the guitars are well played and placed, drums and keyboards always making a good job. This is another psychedelic addictive song, though I have to admit that in moments the album sounds way too repetitive, it does not fail.

I am very pleased with this debut album, and now I am looking forward to their second effort. People you can go to Lüger website and download it for free, if you like psychedelic music, then you must do it, I highly recommend it. My final grade is four stars.

Enjoy it!

I've had this album for a while now, ever since the band released it as a free download. I've listened to it a good amount of times since getting it, and I'm really impressed with what they've done here. This album is Lüger's debut, and it's a very good debut at that. The album is strongly influenced by some of the Krautrock greats (Neu!, Faust and Can especially come to mind). The album has a good thick sound to it. Sometimes it gets to have a good dirty sound, sometimes it sounds cleaner, sometimes it's somewhere in the middle. There isn't anything really bad about the album, but it does have a couple drawbacks; sometimes, the vocals get nearly completely buried underneath the instrumentals, and sometimes the instrumental sound is just a bit too muddy for my taste. Nothing too major, though. Several of the tracks here are excellent, and the rest all fall in the "good to great" range. My favorites would have to be "Swastika Sweetheart", "Why Should I Care?", "Portrait of a Distant Look", and to a slightly lesser degree "La Fin Absolue du Monde".

If you're a fan of psychedelic/space rock or Krautrock (or both!) you should definitely check this one out. It's a solid debut by a band who will hopefully keep making more strong albums. Four stars!

Spanish psyche/space band named under German pistol Parabellum (from 1908), English/German/French songs names and krautrock influence? Their debut album's opener disappointed a bit - vintage electronic space soundscapes, almost boring.

Then things go better. Compositions are full of energy (and electronic sounds), with repetitive constructions, but modern enough not to be mixed with Can works. But main influence is Primal Scream with Swastika Eyes (Luger has their Swastika Sweetheart on this album) and Kowalski. Explosive mix of indie, electronica sound and krautrock. With some amount of psychedelic/space.

When compared with Primal Scream, they have a bit less electronic and some bigger accent on German vintage krautrock sound. But successfully mixing it into quite freshly sounding music. Interesting debut album for Primal Scream fans and indie-electronic-psyche lovers. Free album download from band's site.