DJ-Kicks

The German duo Digitalism were tapped for the 41st entry in the !K7 label's DJ-Kicks series, which is now in its 17th continuous year. That fact itself is interesting and somewhat relevant to this particular album, since so many of the musical elements Digitalism incorporate into their sound hark back 17 years and further, and they seem to have sought out similar tendencies when gathering tracks for this DJ mix. Notice, for example, how the robotic 12/8 groove of WhoMadeWho's "The Sun" sounds as if it was cobbled together from equal parts "Call Me," "Tainted Love," and "Rock and Roll," or the way Surrender!'s "Travellers" trades the previous track's chugging beat and wank-metal guitar solos for '80s synth pop with hints of 1960s baroque rock. Also notice how explicitly Alex Gopher's "Brain Leech" steals from New Order circa 1986. Digitalism's particular genius can sometimes be a bit too subtle here, but you can see it in the way they take a tiny vocal snippet from the end of "Brain Leech" and use it as a zombified dub segue into the more house-flavored "Summer." Also somewhat zombielike is Grauzone's "Raum [Ata's Extended Mix]," which features relentless clicky rhythm guitars, a two-chord progression, and an obsessive focus on the phrase "Ich habe angst" ("I'm scared"). But Digitalism's brilliance really comes to the fore on the previously unreleased original tracks offered here, particularly the lush and nearly anthemic "Silenz" and the wry "A New Drug." More such entries would have made this a better album, but obviously wouldn't have fit in with the series' modus operandi. ~ Rick Anderson