Rampen (APM: Alien Pop Music)

Einsturzende Neubautens 2024 full-length is subtitled apm, standing for "alien pop music," the bands self-created name for their style of progressive experimentation. The term Rampen refers to their public improvisations and unpredictable stage performances dating back to the bands 1980 formation, while the starkness of the albums cover art (the bands name and iconic logo over a solid yellow background) alludes to The White Album, and the idea that Neubauten is as big as the Beatles in another reality. Musically, the album incorporates the clanging metal percussion and throbbing post-punk rhythms of their earlier, eardrum-assaulting work, but in a much more streamlined, post-minimalist context, in line with their gentler, more considered later material. Still, there are moments of hypnotic intensity, such as the opener "Wie Lange Noch," which gets mildly noisy by its conclusion. "Ist Ist" gets tense enough that Blixa Bargeld sounds like hes cracking up while the drummers bash away in a factory full of equipment. The band continue to play with repetition and familiarity, with "Isso Isso" and "Besser Isses" cut from a similar cloth as "Ist Ist," and "The Pit of Language" sharing lyrics and ghostly background vocals with "Tar & Feathers." "Before I Go" calmly tiptoes until Bargeld comes to the line, "I put the cryptic message on the door," followed by a moment of cathartic confusion, but not outright chaos. "Everything Will Be Fine" begins with a low, growling whisper and scraping noises, then attempts to ensure peace and security with the songs confident chorus. Rampen contrasts Neubautens hard and soft sides, recalling the spontaneity and inventive instrumentation of their beginnings, but framing them in a more mature and hopeful perspective. ~ Paul Simpson