Pop this album’s title into the translator machine and, inauspiciously, ‘Under Different Conditions To Love’ comes out the other end. Yet here are Germans who sound thoroughly inspired by a loveless frame of mind. Think edgy mavericks who’ve staked out their own commodious plot aboard – erk – the neu wave of neu electronica, rather than gentile ez fare for candlelit romancers and away you go…
…Away, impressively, into intermittent club beats, flickers of jungle, anti-rhythmic snares, subtly nuanced lo-fi tunes and the austere composure of Antye‘s Bjvrkish vocals, the ensuing encounter between glacial cool and red-hot avant-chaos proving a fair match for the techno-pixie’s ‘Homogenic’. And for their [I]pihce de risistance[/I], Laub ensure you never have to wait long before being blindsided by unpredictable melodies and irregular tones, thereby scuppering the risk of this becoming generic silver-suited space pop.
Translator machine now mysteriously malfunctioning, we’re left hoping the lyrics on tracks like ‘Wierdergef|lig’ and the magically crunchy ‘Losigkeit’ fit the majestic, arty-though-never-arsey picture.
However, set against this wonderfully pensive and regal range of instrumentation, the likelihood that Antye is quavering about shopping, the telly or washing the car somehow seems very slight indeed.