AUF DER BAHN ZUM URANUS

A curiously uninvolving slab of cosmic krautrock, Gaa's one-and-only album is a genuine oddity, an album that mixes elements of early Pink Floyd, Jane and Jefferson Airplane with that eccentric teutonic touch that colours so much of the countries early-seventies underground musical produce. Imagine Jane were actually a bunch of tripped-out hippies, or, simply, just crossed with those commune-dwelling psych-rockers Amon Dull II and you get the idea, though a strong folk undercurrent occasionally struggles to be heard. Klaus Schulze-style whooshes-and-washes - low-budget style - also waft around at the album's edges, though the dominant forces here are still the occasionally-treated guitar and fuzz-toned organ. Some consider 'Auf Der Bahn Zum Uranus' to be something of a cult classic, though that's missing the point. Rather experimental in nature, this inconsistent album smacks of a group unsure of what exactly it is they are trying to achieve, and therefore must be put down as a semi-interesting failure. Alternately timid, tepid and tedious, though with a fairly strong progressive streak that hints at talented creators, Gaa's sole contribution to the space-rock genre simply defies any concrete categorisation, with criticism in the face of such indecision seemingly superfluous. Pointedly, 'Auf Der Bahn Zum Uranus' has built up something of a reputation in the 21st century CD reissue arena, and maybe that shows there is something to this album only hardcore fans can really decipher. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012