,,DAUMENBRUCH''

One of Germany's earliest kosmische pioneers of Krautrock, noise rock and industrial experimentalism, FAUST is still going strong some 50 years after this bizarre musical entity formed in Wümme in 1971. While many Kraut acts have come and gone and traded in lysergic escapist soundscapes for more commercial pop rock throughout the decades, FAUST has steadfastly never strayed from its mission to produce some of the most bizarre and genre defying sounds in all of the world of electronic and rock music.

While the band took a breather in the 1980s, starting with 1994's "Rien," FAUST has cranked out several albums including more than a half a dozen in the 21st century alone. Hot off the press in early 2022, FAUST returns with its 14th studio album titled DAUMENBRUCH which translates as "Thumb Fracture" and features cover art that is sort of the reverse polarity image of the band's self-titled debut from 1971 with an eerie x-ray of a hand only it appears that this particular hand is giving the middle finger. Ha!

To be more accurate, this is not the classic FAUST of so many decades ago as only percussionist Zappi W. Diermaier and keyboardist Gunther Wüsthoff appear from the original lineup but somehow throughout all the decades, whoever is at the helm, the FAUST brand has stayed true to its experimental spirit. DAUMENBRUCH is more of a collaborative effort of various members from other German bands. Along for the ride are bassist / guitarist Dirk Dresselhaus from Schneider TM; percussionist Andrew Unrah and guitarist Joceh Arbeit from Einstürzende Neubauten; guitars and samples by Use Bastlansen from Stadtischflex and percussionist Elke Drapatz with Sonja Kosche who plays self made instruments, the harp and a ventilator!

Like FAUST's entire back catalogue, DAUMENBRUCH offers another slice of surreality into bizarre industrial koschmische soundscapes that mix and meld electronica with tribal percussionist, drones and lysergic hypnotic grooves that parade on for large chunks of time until your consciousness has become one with some ethereal reality. Clocking in at nearly 57 minutes, DAUMENBRUCH features only three lengthy tracks with the shortest just missing the 15-minute mark. While similar to previous works, DAUMENBRUCH offers a chilled out ambient sort of industrial journey with lengthy percussive jamming sessions accompanied by spaced out sound effects. The album sounds more like something from Bohren & Der Club of Gore at times than early Faust or the bands from which these musicians came from.

This was one of those remote recordings meaning each member laid down the parts at home and sent them to Dresselhaus and Diermaster who mixed it all together with the advantages of excellent modern production. The results equate to a meditative stream of consciousness sort of album that transcends much of what the modern world has become and remains in that ethereal zone that FAUST has never left since it began so long ago. Like many of the most koschmische farthest out trips of the 70s Krautrock scene, so too does DAUMENBRUCH engage in lengthy repetitive grooves that slowly build, add new layers of sound and find some sort of crescendo, not too dissimilar to what post-rock has become but yet the entire thing feels more like some schizoid Art Zoyd album rather than anything German.

The three tracks are entirely instrumental with no vocals to be found. "Weisse Schokolade" opens as the lengthiest just missing the 23-minute mark followed by "Default Mood" with is just shy of the 15-mark. "Border River" offers another near 19 minutes of psychedelic splendor and enthusiastic experimentalism which offers the excellent chemistry of this band of space trippers going for the lysergic jugular. While the rock aspects are absent on the first track, "Default Mood" climaxes with a strange mix of thumping rock bass, angry guitar sounds and a music box! The closing "Border River" is perhaps the most traditionally Kraut flavored with thumping bass, percussive loops and freaky electronic sounds accompanied by self-made instruments offering a taste of true musical escapism.

DAUMENBRUCH demonstrates clearly that after a half century FAUST is in no danger of losing its touch in crafting some of the most authentically koschmische music of the entire Krautrock scene and proves that it has what it takes to keep the candle burning while so many contemporaries have fallen. While this latest release certainly will not eclipse the band's earliest works as the wow factor for such experimentalism has since long expired, for those who still crave those mind-altering musical experiments that only FAUST can conjure up, DAUMENBRUCH is a testament to the band's mad genius and longevity. Add to that the creativity to continue to exist in the world of Krautrock for so many decades and still deliver something that sounds rather unique without cannibalizing its previous works. One of the boldest experimental pioneers is still a force to be reckoned with.

I'd give this a 3.5 but i'll round up to celebrate one of Germany's greatest Kraut bands

This is so far the last modern studio release from Faust, which makes it quite bittersweet. I doubt this is their LAST last album, hell for all we know next week might give us another album from the band. Faust is wildly unpredictable, which is why they are so charming. The only thing consistent is that they've been putting banger after banger out ever since the 2009 release of C'est com... com... compliqué, barring a few exceptions, with them peaking quite strongly with Fresh Air. So, five years after, and in a new decade, they decided to hit the studio once again, but this time a bit differently...

,,Daumenbruch'', or just Daumenbruch if you rather not include the ,, & the '', is a showcase on how to collaborate right on your krautrock projects. In my Disconnected review I mentioned that Faust wasn't quite fit for collaborative efforts, but as it seems I am quite wrong on this assumption because Daumenbruch shows a very mature lining within the Faust discography in how they decided to handle shared projects. This time their experiment was to record some rough mixes of the three tracks here, and send them out to a couple of their friends from other groups, and have them mix these tapes, before mashing them into three separate tracks for our listening pleasure.

I think what makes this whole idea work so well is that these artists are more in line with what Faust was trying to create ever since their debut (fitting since this album's cover is very similar to that one). Sure, dälek and Nurse With Wound did have a clear fondness for Faust as shown through their own works, but I feel like having members from groups like Einstürzende Neubauten and Stadtfischflex helps a lot more with their vision, as their own visions line up like a puzzle. And guess what, it shows quite well within the first track, being this massive, creepy jam that feels both entirely Faust, but still has the elements the other artists wanted to try out. Nothing overpowers, or underpowers anything in conjunction, creating for a near perfect fusion between Faust and the greater world.

There is also a clear sense of enjoyment found within these tracks, as shown by how clean, crisp, and stylized each song is in production value. I can feel the joy these artists must've felt, which is something I love to hear within my music. You know, strangely this all reminds me of Earthside's Let The Truth Speak and how that album handled their collabs. I guess I am just a sucker for when musicians work together well.

My favorite track off here has to be Border River. It is a perfect send off for this record, being this 18 minute soundtrack to some avant-garde apocalypse, and it is so enriching and juicy that I feel like I am on another planet whenever I hear it. It ending with a cacophony of sounds is also just a French, or in this case, German kiss on this whole record; A perfect encapsulation on what came before.

If I had one thing to say that this album gets wrong, however, it'd probably be that this feels like a diet Faust Wakes Nosferatu. I know, I compare a lot of albums to it, but I think that album does a lot of things right in such a good amount of time that I cannot help but try to compare and contrast some things with each other. Daumenbruch has a lot of the same vibes and technicalities that Nosferatu had, and they certainly did them well, but I feel like Nosferatu's raw atmosphere, quieter suspense, and the longer direction makes it the superior album. I also think the track listing being so little, despite the massive tracks present, does show a problem in the meat of this album. I love these big tracks, a lot in fact, but I think Faust albums work best with some smaller tracks thrown in for good measure, which I think, if this album did have such things, could be a secondary masterpiece to Nosferatu, but alas I feel like I have to bump the grade down a smidge.

This record certainly is a testament in the power Faust can have, and with more people to boot it just becomes a grand ol' time. Highly recommend this one, obviously, and it is indeed a treat for anyone who is more into the abstract sides of krautrock music. We just have one more Faust record left, so let's finish things off right and well.

Best tracks: Weisse Schokolade, Border River

Worst tracks: N/A