Teenage Panzerkorps - German Reggae

This wasn't even in the reviews pile, but I asked Phil if I could review it anyway because it's just too good not to recommend. Totally up my street, these guys. They sound like a punkier cross between Neu!, The Fall and Joy Division or something. They've got a sound that's really hard to pin down but everything just works. The songs on here range from blazing repetitive punk to slower grooving numbers, but the overriding theme is bite-sized chunks of kraut punk. The vocals are very much like a German Mark E. Smith, but the tunes are all totally garagey and propulsive. The guitarist sometimes switches to synth with the heavily overdriven bass taking charge of maintaining the momentum. Actually the rhythm section really takes the fore through a lot of this record. I love how they employ the whole repetitive psych-kraut tricks in their songs and yet they're over so quickly! Side A of this record alone is nine tracks long! I can't think of anybody else who sounds like these guys. They're ballsy but smart as well. In my estimation they've just shot up to 'major player' status as far as current garage bands go, and that's saying a lot because you can barely leave the house without seeing a good garage band these days! I'd love to see these guys live. I bet they're really fucking loud and all. Totally gorgeous packaging for this one, too. Beautifully printed on nice paper with an amazing Paul Nash-esque cover painting.