GOLEM

This is a not very good krautrock album! Is this another case for the half star rating? One thing is sure: the rating will never be very high! The album has some basic effects like early Tangerine Dream circa Zeit and Alpha Centauri, but I must admit Golem is a bit more interesting to listen. The music relies very much on the typical krautrock echo applied on vocals and on instruments.

The side 1 starts with a weird imitation of an helicopter and an helix-propelled plane. Then, completely crazy & annoying male screams & speeches appear to confirm that this record is VERY marginal: was the singer on drugs when the music was recorded? The punk low-fi acoustic guitar does not help at all: I cannot give more than 1 star for the side 1, keeping in mind that I slightly prefer it to albums like Neu!2 and early Tangerine Dream's.

The side 2 is a bit more melodic and loaded, despite the music still remains very marginal and minimalist. There are no drums and very rare percussion parts in the form of tam-tam parts. The sound is not dynamic enough, despite the miscellaneous treatments that lead to a certain surround atmosphere. The repetitive "Sarah" tracks are quite hypnotic and slightly dreamy, as reveal the angelic voices. I give 2 stars for the side 2.

Mostly this is a marginal, minimalist & bizarre German work with some hypnotic arrangements.

Rating: 1.5 star