Einstürzende Neubauten - Strategies Against Architecture IV

A bit of a grab bag from Berlin's venerable Einstürzende Neubauten, the latest installment in the ongoing 'Strategies...' series. More succinctly, over two hours of esoteric excursions done in the band's own inimitable style. After the last Architectural outing from Bargeld and company, it was assumed there would be no more. A trilogy is the perfect stopping point, yes? Au contraire, it would seem for lo and behold here we are with a new collection of outtakes, unreleased versions, live work and strange mixes once more underlining the group's continuing ethos: you have to destroy in order to build.

What is good on here is insanely impressive, "Insomnia" is tense and almost outdoes the songs it bridges from eg: 12035th Nacht and Die Explosion Im Festspielhaus (from 1992's Tabula Rasa and 1996's Ende Neu respectively) but for the length of this double album, there are some sadly lacking moments. What that means most is that you'll find some previously released songs re-done in rather uninteresting ways, the single version of Perpetuum Mobile and Youme & Meyou are the guiltiest but even though you've heard it a thousand times and if you've seen them do it live you'll concur: Selbsportrait Mit Kater is still glorious. That this is the full version I wonder about as a live recording I own of theirs from 2004 goes even further than what is offered on here. Rough sketches abound throughout this thing with "Birth Lunch Death" leading the pack handily. "GS1 & GS2" must be heard to be believed, the versatility of this piece alone would indicate that perhaps this collection is more the idea of the record company and not the band. Who's to say, very little information was released about it and to my knowledge, no other press outlet has even bothered to review it.

You're probably wondering, why didn't he include the "i" word in the title of this review. Because this band have not been in that stagnant pigeonhole for many a year and even back in early 80s when they did work in that field, it was obvious that it was just a phase. Neubauten have more in common with free form jazz or even straight up rock and roll these days, though they'd never fit comfortably there, either. They've never really belonged anywhere nor have they been part of any trend or fad, which might explain why some thirty years later, no one else sounds like them or works remotely close to their aural playing field. You may not always like the product you get, and I'm rather lukewarm to this one but always remember: this is going to lead somewhere only they would think to go.

Probably my biggest gripe is that selections from the band's self-released Musterhaus series of albums have been tacked on here and there are more than a few previously "supporters only" works also. I mean, really, what's the point of giving die-hard fans the goods if some of it is going to wind up cheapened by a commercial release. It's cool that this exposes more people to what they do when release schedules aren't a factor but just as they did by putting out The Jewels for wider consumption, it shows a shocking lack of regard for those who have given Neubauten the artistic freedom to push ever further into their own sonic world. Support is a two-way street, never forget that Blixa. Mar 10 2011