KRAUTROCK

Compared to the predecessor of Faust IV, Rien is a stark contrast to the more smooth and laden '73 record. It is a lot more in kin to their very first record, heck it has a similar design being an all chrome record box, much like their first's all clear record box. Personally, I think the parallels make quite a lot of sense, but the chrome could signify the band knowing for certain that they aren't the fill in the blank record guys anymore, as that transparency was filled with many years of experimental music that gave way a gray, and shiny frontiers for many groups that spawned since they left the scene.

I will say that the comparison to their first goes more than just covers, and goes within the music. The music found here is a more harsh and noisy attempt at what they were doing with their first record, and The Faust Tapes, with plenty of interesting sound samples, krautrock movements, and weirdness to go around. For what they do here, I think their execution of that weird experimental sound works really nicely with the edgy industrial and drone soundscapes, especially on the title track, and Listen To The Fish.

However, this record kinda marks the point within the Faust albums where they would sometimes add in audio samples as filler. Now they certainly did this before with The Faust Tapes, an album filled with many filler bells and whistles, but that album was essentially a glorified archival release, for better or for worse. This album, however, with tracks like Long Distance Calls In The Desert, and the two Eroberung der Stille Teil, some of which being nearly 10 minutes in length, 10 minutes worth of odd samples, field recordings, and deranged speeches, makes me feel like there was a bit of wasted potential found here. I cannot be too mad, after all making these weird experimental songs is their speciality, but I still feel as though they could've added something more to these offbeat field recordings. Eroberung der Stille Teil I does a bit more, having a quite beautiful synth in the back, which I like, but doesn't quite hold up in my mind. The screaming does remind me of a Magma album though, which is quite funny.

I definitely like the production here a lot. While I may judge this album greatly for the wasted instrumentation, I cannot judge it too much as the mixing and production is some of the best in a Faust album. That is thanks to Jim O'Rourke, a spear head of sorts to the loft experimental and drone music scene. What he adds to the table here could not be understated, giving us some wonderful stereo works that fully capture precise dynamics and energies that the band might've been going for when creating this record. He's kinda like the Brian Eno to whatever music you can call this as.

My personal favorite track here is certainly Listen To The Fish, a 15 minute krautrock song that soon evolves into a droning ambiance. The beginning is pretty alright in my opinion, nothing too crazy, but nothing too bad. It soon goes into a lot more avant-garde territories, playing interesting sounds throughout, as it soon washes away into a blend of harsh noise that dissipates into quiet and beautiful ambient synth. It's a strange, but kind of pretty experience to go through, especially with headphones. Do I think it is the group's best jam? Frankly, no, but is it up there with the best? Yes, absolutely.

Rien may not be my favorite record, but it is an album that I do respect. It reunited the krautrock band that I enjoy quite greatly, and led to more fun, interesting, and crazy krautrock works. If you manage to find a copy, or a download of the album, I say you should look into it, but maybe after listening to the band's first 4 albums, just so you may be prepared for what the band delivers on here. Give it a spin if you can, you may find something that piques your curiosity.

Not a lot of people realise that the music in Germany in the end of the 60's was a cesspool of various genres with their forced collisions. And for every trending genre they took in, they managed to recreate something truly new from them. In the rise of prog in the beginning of the 70's, Germany felt their head first into krautrock and jazz prog, besides the other prog sub-genres. So, amid the general relatively big German prog hits like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Can, Amon Dull, Popol Vuh, Triumvirat, Grobschnitt, Novalis and Eloy, arose a smaller underground spawn of German prog rock bands. And Thrice Mice was one of them. They playfully incorporated sax into their music and write generally happier Pink Floyd-isms music wich was strongly influenced by jazz rock/fusion style.

Thrice Mice was a German progressive rock band, a sextet from Hamburg. Thrice Mice appeared in 1966 when the two brothers Rainer and Werner Von Gosen formed a beat trio with Arno Bredehoft. At the time, these three musicians were students at the Alexander Von Humboldt high school in the Hamburg district of Harburg. By 1970, the group grew up into a sextet, with the addition of Wolfgang Buhre, Wolfram Minnemann and Karl-Heinz Blumenberg. Then, Thrice Mice also turned into a bluesy jazz rock band, with which they also filled their debut and only album 'Thrice Mice', which was recorded in the same year but only released in the following year. Shortly thereafter, in the early of 1972, the band broke up. Some members of Thrice Mice were employed by the Hamburg jazz rock formation Altona later in that decade.

As I mentioned above, by 1970, when the first and only album of them, which is actually the subject to be discussed here was recorded, the line up of the band had already doubled and the style played by Thrice Mice had also developed significantly. So, the line up on the album is Karl-Heinz Blumenberg (vocals), Werner Von Gosen (guitar), Wolfram Minnemann (organ), Wolfgang Buhre (saxophone), Rainer Von Gosen (bass guitar) and Arno Bredehoft (drums).

I never heard anything about this album or this band before. And I'm not a specialist in krautrock either. So, to listen to this album was a shot in the dark. Still, I like the album. It seems to me a typical underground German prog jazz-rock album. This is a very singular album, a typical example of the early krautrock. It brings to us the echoes of the typical psychedelic sound of the 60's. So, it isn't really strange that it reminds me, sometimes, the sound of The Doors. The production isn't great and so the quality of its sound loses a bit, with that. Anyway, the quality of its music gets over it.

Thrice Mice plays a bluesy herbaceous jazz rock dominated by saxophone and organ, a reminiscent of the jazzed proto-prog of various British colleagues such as Colosseum, If, Mogul Thrash, Web, Blodwyn Pig or Warm Dust. However, the music is even more oriented towards the 60's, which is particularly noticed in Wolfram Minnemann's style ' la Ray Manzarek organ playing, which is somewhat thin and dusty. The progressivity is, of course, the length of the numbers, in which the band is more or less lively and complex is dominated mostly by Wolfgang Buhres' freaking sax playing or by several intricate saxophone lines and the swelling organ. And, from time to time, the electric guitar also plays in the foreground, while the rhythm department pushes the whole thing to forward rather solidly, but the singer is rarely used.

In 2003 'Thrice Mice' was released on the CD format and was expanded with several bonus tracks. As I mentioned above, Thrice Mice, around the brothers Rainer and Werner Von Gosen, started out as a beat trio. That can be perfectly experienced, particularly on the last track on the CD, 'An Invitation'. 'An Invitation' sounds a bit like The Who and was recorded in February 1967 at a beat competition organized by the Harburger Werbung und Nachrichten, the local newspaper in Hamburg's Harburg district, where the group was at their home. Thrice Mice took the first place out of the twenty four bands on that competition. The first six bands were each allowed to publish one of the tracks recorded at the concert on a joint EP, which now gives to us the opportunity to listen to the first sound document by Thrice Mice. Something similar can be heard on many of the other bonus tracks on the album. Some of the pieces recorded on this re-released version are live recordings with quite good quality. They came from three different concerts from 1969-70.

Conclusion: I really think we have here some good stuff. I felt here the presence of the sound of The Doors, at times, and the psychedelic sound with a mix of rock'n'roll and jazz. You know, the sound of the 60's. A lot of the music here is hot, energetic and enthusiastic. Still, we can say that 'Thrice Mice' sounds, especially from the perspective of the 70's, is quite out of date. But, in general, this music is very well made, but not particularly original, somewhat stale and also not terribly herbaceous jazz/blues rock. So, all in all, this is a nice album, but nothing outstanding. When the band fused jazz and less The Doors sound, then they sounded great. However, if you value the above mentioned comparisons and you can imagine music to be a bit more unstructured, freer, harder, more 60's, heavy and a bit bumpier, maybe you should give to 'Thrice Mice' a try. So, as a final conclusion, 'Thrice Mice' is a good album, but nothing more than that.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

'Gelebte Solidarität' gives the 'la' of the album, a convoluted space-rock air, with a musical structure that turns rather than hovering, put in the mouth. 'Stargate or Die!' for one of the 3 big pieces, a gig, a weighted improvisation; a sound reminiscent of Tangerine Dream for the guitar, much more like the Spacelords, Astral Magic for stoner rock or Aton Five for long wanderings; a clarinet in the distance brightens up the listener at the end before the guitar can distract them from an explosive psychedelic-heavy-stoner solo. 'Ewiges Eis' for a psychedelic interlude giving pride of place to Stephan's bass and letting the mind wander freely before leaving for 'Der Kokosnussjongleuse' and its even more soaring air; goes in, heavy, hypnotic, with invasive notes; note the catchy and progressive finale, with this heavy bass. 'Not Enough Darkness' more space ambient, with the oppressive LP crack, the catchy diatonic melody, a long and slow monologue running through space, the ether, your brain.

Kanoi obscure fictional character throws a musical nest from which birds can vibrate in the cosmos; KRPL powerful trio, mixture of Stoner, Psychedelic, Sludge, Doom brings long harmonics, stratospheric suites surfing on alternative rock; an experience for fans of saturated and colorful music eyeing the Oresound Space Collective and the Hawkwind of yesteryear.

Crazy, wacky, intense, yet chill, delicious, nutritious, malicious reggae rock. But it is Can, so it is brought to the threshold and pushed past it. When you think a ten minute guitar solo (the title track) is at its peak, it goes further, up and beyond. This album is magical. Not in the crazy, dissonant, nasty, disturbing way that Can usually is, but in a chill, lax, and easy way that is not executed the same in any other album in Can's discography. 'I Want More' is the most commercial Can ever got (and still surprisingly good!), Cascade Waltz is just some trippy, psychedelic five-minute reggae groove, "Laugh 'Till You Cry" is a Can-ified cruise-ship ditty, '...And More' is a bass- heavy reprise of the first track, 'Babylonian Pearl is a funky and relaxed jam with nothing special with it apart from the fact that it is Can who made it, 'Smoke' is a heavy new installment to the EFS franchise, and the title track is just a pure Can masterpiece. It holds up to some of the best later Can songs, like 'Vernal Equinox', 'Theif', and 'Unfinished'. Overall, a great Can album which doesn't fall nearly as short as it gets shamed for. Solid, yet fluid and chewable at the same time. Prog on.

All that aside, what does Faust's "last" record hold? Well, this record was recorded in 1971, which was the same year when they released their very first record. You know what that means, we're back in totally weird Faust territory, and honestly that is probably the best thing about this record. While I cannot say Faust really became accessible, or less bizarre throughout their later recordings, they kinda were becoming a bit more laid back with their weird natures, at least as laid back as Faust could be. Not to say that was a bad move on the band's part, as it gave them a bit more leg room and creativity with their music as a whole, but I think it is good to see more of that meaty avant garde stuff Faust appealed to.

Last LP gives me all the weird golden check marks. A record filled with insanely odd passages, surreal noises, and moments that are way too psychedelic for their own good, and it all cements itself into a really enjoyable time for me. To me, this is like a more polished up version of the first Faust recording, and honestly I would have preferred if this was the second Faust record, and not So Far. Each song, for the most part, has their moments of fun krautrock that I look for when listening to Faust, so it all works out in the long run.

But I will go out on a limb and say while this record is a great and weird time, some songs here are kinda?whatever. The shorter tracks like Party 8, and Party 6 honestly could've just been left out if I am being perfectly clear, and Chromatic should've been so much better if they didn't give it a ton of filler in the way with that weird looping keyboard sound that goes through like most of the song.

Also, while this is certainly a good release, I do have to partially agree with user Phallus_Dei on RYM in that this record is kinda obsolete, as a lot of songs here are either on other albums, such as Giggy Smile being on Faust VI, or were re-released for 71 Minutes and BBC Sessions. However, I still think all that aside, if you just look at Last LP for what it's worth by itself, it is still an excellent tour through the weird side of Faust from the early 70s. I say listen to this first before listening to 71 Minutes and or the BBC Sessions.

The Last LP is not the last Faust LP, but if it was it definitely would be a good note to end on. However, since they didn't stop making music, we now have more Faust albums to listen to, which is a plus in my book. Give this one a listen, though that is easier said than done with the fact this album isn't on streaming. A shame, but if you can find it somewhere on the internet, whether Youtube or somewhere else, don't hesitate to give it a listen.

Every KL collection has its standouts, some more than others, and this album has several that would easily make any best-of list of this act's decade of cosmic transmissions. "Der kosmische Strahl," "Südlicht" and "Die stille Sonne (Teil 2)" are downright unforgettable, and the middle-floydian synths of "Die stille Sonne (Teil 1)" are a treat. The cool-down of "Im Herzen des Universums" (in the heart of the universe) provides both soothing close for side 1, and ties that program together with the astronomically-themed second side. And that's a great part of the magic of Volume 5 - its cohesiveness, its integrity as a capital-A Album.

The liner notes treat us to an expansion of the legend ( or is it history?) of Martin Zeichnete. After long hours of working for the glory of the DDR, Martin, we're told, would wait for when his bosses packed it in for the night and, freed from their watchful gaze, steal some precious studio time to indulge in personal projects.

The second side of the LP is a suite of pieces Martin composed as a showcase for his love of astronomy. The pieces are selected from all over the KL timeline, from 1973 to 1982, but are united by their theme: Years of the Quiet Sun (the 11-year sunspot cycle our sun experiences). So while the first side of the album is a by-now-familar running program united by the tracks' beats-per-minute, for the second program we have a unique look into Martin's soul. Of course it is up to the listener to decide whether that soul belongs to a talented musician/composer or is itself the creation of another, different talented musician/composer.

Ya can't get much more Prog than that.

CD1 (37:54) 1. "Vart tog du v​ä​gen" (5:45) singer Johny Karlsson Kern seems to be channeling David Byrne's voice (8.75/10)

2. "Tiden" (3:50) could be a punk rock song from the late 1970s or early 1980s--as if David Byrne sang the lead vocals over an early BERLIN song. (8.6667/10)

3. "Jagar dig" (7:44) driving, hypnotic rhythm track (using two ostinato bass notes and 4/4 straight time) over which electric viola and self-echoed electric guitar solo. At the end of the fourth minute the heavily-treated viola gets a turn, creating very spacey/synth-like sounds over which Johnny begins to croon. At 5:55 there is an actually shift in the dynamic of the rhythm section, as if they're shifting into a slightly higher gear (while never really changing pace). Soon after Johnny stops crooning and flute and crazed viola take turns soloing ... to the end. (13/15)

4. "Cirkeln" (8:06) the first interesting, non-Krautrock song opening has drums, percussion, guitar, bass, and flute "hits" being thrown into a linear pile. At the one-minute mark everybody lines up to create a gentle, forward-moving song. The flute, viola, guitar, and bass play on this one are the best on the album: very creative and nonconformist. Definitely the best bass playing on the album. Though it does drag on a bit, this is definitely my favorite song on the album. (14/15)

5. "Br​ättom" (12:29) despite containing the most interesting drumming on the album, the first five minutes of this song is rendered almost unlistenable by the amateurish play of the annoying mosquito-sounding lead guitar. Not even the pleasant flute and creative viola play can save this one. But, at the five-minute mark Johnny enters with a song in his voice and everything stops and shifts into a totally different rhythm pattern. As Johnny stops singing at the end of the eighth minute sustained airy flute notes, pizzicato violin arpeggi and more (but better) mosquito guitar interplay makes for a pleasant and engaging weave (though it's the drumming and subtly shifting viola arpeggi that attract most of my attention). Thank goodness for that shift at 5:00 or else this would have been a very lowly rated song. (21.75/25)

CD2 (37:23) 1. "Inte mer" (7:16) a pleasant enough jam to get into--with interesting interplay from flute, electric guitar and electric viola, but it turns out to be more like something long and drawn out from OZRIC TENTACLES than their previous stuff. (13/15)

2. "Utan n​å​nting på dig" (5:55) a cappella voce opens this before tumbling into a plodding blues-rock form. Voice and electric guitar trade outputs just as a blues song would do while the rhythm section uphold a loose near-Reggae pattern. Everything just sounds so rudimentary and cheesy: especially the first guitar, bass, and drumming. (8.6667/10)

3. "Då v​ä​ntar jag" (6:41) going after a 1960s California Surf Rock vibe with this one, there's just not anything else to make it more interesting than that. (8/10)

4. "Led mig h​å​rifr​ä​n" (7:41) opening with another rhythm pattern from the bass and drums that plays ad nauseam beneath Johnny's same-same vocals. There is more scratchy viola and sax here to make things a little more interesting. Why they didn't do more of this over the course of the album I do not know. (13.125/15)

5. "S​öderut" (9:52) repeating vocal sample, cymbal play, and a repeating progression of sustained bass chords open this one before Johnny joins in with a brief introductory delivery of lyrics. After that, the band moves into an interesting minimalist rhythm pattern over which viola, electric guitar, and saxophone have a free-for-all. At the five minute mark everything backs off except the rhythm section so that guitar can take the center but by the end of the sixth minute the other two soloists (sax and viola) have resumed adding their dissonant flourishes here and there. It's a great groove from the rhythm section, and the interplay of the three soloists is interesting, but, unfortunately, there's nothing special to come of it except hypnotic numbness. (17.25/20)

Total Time 75:17

Unfortunately, I don't see/hear a lot of growth since their last album--their self-titled 2020 debut, which I love and which I keep songs like "Dagarna försvann/Dagar försvinner" and "Till dig ännu en gång" in my regular rotation of playlists to this day. The music from that album was so refreshing because no one else had been doing anything like that (that I'd heard) for decades, but Söderat has so few surprises that each song quickly fades into background music as I listen. In my opinion, the band has devolved into more of a jam band than an experimental NeoKrautrock band.

B-/3.5 stars; an interesting contribution to Prog World of NeoKrautrock that, unfortunately, does not live up to the promise of the band's 2020 debut. Still, recommended for any fans of Krautrock music: you may find it far more interesting and enjoyable than I.

This debut ICH BIN EIN SPIEGELEI may be the odd album out of the pack but is surely the reason why Nurse With Wound added THE DECAYES to its underground weirdo music shopping list which has surely given this obscure band more attention than it ever would have otherwise. Sounding more like Faust's debut from 1971 than anything that came in 1978, this album featured two long tripped out tracks that each exceeded 21 minutes. ICH BIN EIN SPIEGELEI features only two musicians: Ron Kane (electric & acoustic lead guitars, electric bass, clarinet, voice, bassoon, loops, organ) and Paul Sakrison (drums & percussion, clarinet, effects, electric rhythm guitar, voice) and was limited to a quantity of only 100 copies, each with customized spray paint patterns on the cover. The album has still never been re-released beyond its original vinyl handmade pressing therefore extremely collectible but thanks to the internet anyone can hear it these days.

If you ask me this debut release sounds most like Germany's Annexus Quam which displayed a similar mix of continuous psychedelic rock streaming in the vein fo the most tripped out Krautrock of the early 70s with heavy doses of electronic free improvisation and a continuous monotonic rhythmic drive. Both tracks are very similar in structure, totally instrumental and saturated with reverb, echo effects, tape manipulations. Despite two tracks on board, the album is more like a stream of consciousness experience where the emphasis is on the meditative repetition of the beat while various sounds ooze in and out of the musical procession. The music is very minimalistic and even though many instruments are on display, none tend to overlap and wax and wane unexpectedly.

This album is every bit as experimental as the best of the freakazoids doing this kind of stuff around the 1970-71 timeline with heavily edited tape recordings that were run through feedback devices and then spliced and overlaid with bizarre mishmashes of sound effects in order to craft almost alien soundscapes that sound like no one else, which was especially rare in the Los Angeles area of the USA at the time (think Van Halen as the biggest thing when this was released!) Considering the album's title and two tracks are all in German, it's not hard to tell where the primary influences came from at all! The creepy ambience of this album has also been compared to Kraftwerk's earlier albums but i think THE DECAYES did a better job achieving this trip to the stars. Overall this is an excellent slice of American Krautrock which as far as i know wasn't attempted outside of Europe. Any way you slice it, for those seeking the farthest out trips possible then you can't go wrong with this DECAYES debut. It didn't end up on the Nurse With Wound list for nothing!