Klaus Johann Grobe - The Sound Of Salvation

Here’s a very limited 10” of very good krautrock from the young and mysterious Swiss duo Klaus Johann Grobe, who have come from nowhere with this homemade collection of repeato-pop gems which instantly ooze quality. The formula is pretty basic - simple, live drumbeats, warm and fruity bass loops, simple synth lines and detached Germanic vocals.

It’s pretty well-worn territory in many respects, but there’s an infectious naive enthusiasm behind this, mixed with a great melodic instinct and some crafty lounge jazz touches in tracks like ‘Alles was wir tun ist gemeinsam’ which give it a bit of a library soundtrack feel, which should go down well because I know that if there’s one thing you people like as much as krautrock, it’s library soundtracks. ‘Raus!’ is another standout, contorting its cheekily blatant Kraftwerkisms into a weird Devo-disco hybrid as it progresses, and in general the second side seems to be more synthpoppy than the first, even reminding me of Future Islands and Leeds kraut-poppers T.O.Y.S at times. Overall if you imagine a cross between Kraftwerk and Horrid Red, with a splash of Can thrown into the pop blender with it, that’s pretty much what you’re looking at here. The screenprinted sleeves are a thing of beauty too (even if the ink smells a bit funny). Very good indeed.