PRICE:
$29.50
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ARTIST
TITLE
Ende Neu
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
POTOMAK 919821 POTOMAK 919821
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
6/9/2009

2024 repress; LP version. Einstürzende Neubauten's Potomak label reissues their classic 1996 release, Ende Neu -- originally released on the Mute label, now reissued for the first time on vinyl. On this release, the quintessential scientists of the post-avant-garde abstain from focusing on listener disintegration tactics as they did on prior albums, but opt instead to hone their craftsmanship in new compositional areas. Some followers of their earlier material might object to the obvious and comparatively conventional song structure and style that is displayed on Ende Neu -- picking up a power tool to highlight a piece rather than centering the entire work around it, or leaving a stage before setting it ablaze -- but the destruction has already been performed, and here they erect a brave new anti-building of musical art. Exploring intricate processions of time and toying with melodious harmonies, this album reveals Blixa Bargeld and company maturing gracefully. The opening cut, "Was Ist Ist," is a furious, fast-paced slander of the greediness of mankind while simultaneously serving as a tongue-in-cheek remark on how absolute, scientific power overrules impossibility. From there, Ende Neu continues to musically rewrite the band's style, using familiar topics such as ethereal chaos ("Die Explosion Im Festspielhaus"), cosmic complacency ("The Garden"), revolt ("Installation Nº.1"), and even a Kafka-esque piece, "Der Schacht Von Babel." This was the band's first release after the departure of founding band member Mark Chung, and it is obvious that the remaining members took the time to contribute to the void left by his departure. Ende Neu delivers a precision-fed matrix of audio-encrypted knowledge in a manner not like the chaotic Neubauten of the early '80s, but more strategic, and more mature. Dark, focused explosions, with theatrical strings and tightly-wound vocal structures. This reissue includes reworked artwork.