ÖPNV

Reviews

ÖPNV Deutsch Funk Revolte LP

It’s really all there in the album title. This Berlin band delivers a solid collection of cold post-punk songs with early industrial elements, and it’s pretty great. Several tracks have spoken word intros, and most all begin with heavy, distorted bass grooves and electronic drums. The vocals and production sound like EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN with some THROBBING GRISTLE at their most “Hot on the Heels of Love,” and several tracks feature a dying no wave trumpet twisted in the swirling synths. “Einzeltäter” dips into Euro techno but never loses its cool, perfect for a Berlin dorm room or a dancefloor. “Blockiert” is the closest to traditional punk, via the SUICIDE synth-and-drums route. Its crackling three-note riff and pounding kick drums combo is as economical as it is heavy. A simple and effective stomper to end a strong album. Sehr gut!

ÖPNV ÖPNV cassette

Five songs of plodding, synth-heavy punk from Germany. Mid-tempo and dirgy, this falls somewhere in my mind between post-punk and slower peace punk stuff like POISON GIRLS. I really dig it. The strange occasional synthesizer blip-bloops are really cool and kind of push this over the top for me. Between the stuff here on Phantom Records and the handful of things I’ve gotten to review on Billo Records, it seems Germany has a wide array of killer stuff going on currently and I am thirsty for more.

ÖPNV ÖPNV cassette

Primitive bass/drum/keys proto-darkwave that sounds (and is) undeniably German. Everything here is cold; even the forceful tracks like “Trabantenstadt,” with its sharp, barked vocals, sound drunk and trepidatious. Throw a Cosey-caliber damaged trumpet into “Rasthof” to top off an excellent offering that demands more listens and deeper exploration.