Tank

Album review

If Brain Records, the legendary German label that released music by pretty much every great Krautrock band of the ‘70s including Neu!, Guru Guru, and Cluster, was still in operation today, it's easy to imagine that they'd be putting out albums like Tank. German quartet Kreidler is, of course, connected to the tradition exemplified by the aforementioned bands, but they've taken those influences solidly into the 21st century, adding contemporary electronica and post-rock sensibilities to the mix in equal measure. For Tank, Kreidler decided to take as simplistic an approach to both recording and post-production as possible, adhering to the strict agenda of a five-day recording session and a three-day mixing session. The results are audibly visceral and immediate-sounding. While much of the band's sound is still based on carefully crafted electronic textures, their flesh-and-blood rhythm section is felt as much as heard throughout Tank, and that makes all the difference. One is reminded occasionally of the effect Tangerine Dream, another classic Krautrock ensemble, achieved when they added full-time drummer Klaus Krieger to their lineup in the late ‘70s. That's not to suggest Tank has a retro-‘70s flavor, or even a particular resemblance to T. Dream, just that the physical force of the grooves achieved here by bassist Alex Paulick and drummer Thomas Klein mesh with the melodic-but-percussive electronics of Andreas Reihse and Detlef Weinrich in an analogous way. If anything, the band's sound on Tank is closer to that of Neu!, in that each tune is pushed forward by a steady, insistent pulse that pulls the concise, melodic statements along in its powerful undertow.

© J. Allen /TiVo