Einstürzende
Neubauten
Lament
7 November 2014
Mute
4.5 stars out of 5
Blixa Bargeld & crew return after a seven-year absence
with Lament, a concept double LP
about the First World War. If you’re only vaguely aware of Einstürzende
Neubauten as the group of crusty-looking West Berliners who made “music” by
throwing around chunks of metal in a junkyard back in the ‘80s, choosing Lament as your entry point into the
career of one of the most influential bands in history might be a bit
overwhelming. This isn’t background music. This is an academic essay that
demands your full attention. Lament
is about as close to pure classical music (in the spirit of Cage or Reich) as one
can get while essentially using only percussion and programming. The band
researched extensively for the album, diving into the archives at the Humboldt
University of Berlin and the German Broadcasting Archives, and incorporated
real letters, interviews, telegrams, and fighting songs from the war into the
finished work.
After the preparatory matters of the movements of the militaries
of the European empires (“Kriegsmaschinerie”) and the singing of the
national(istic) anthem (“Hymnen”), we hear the duplicitous exchange of
telegrams between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Czar Nicholas II (“The Willy – Nicky Telegrams”),
before launching into the terror that destroyed a generation of European
families. “Der 1. Weltkrieg” is a catalogue of battles and massacres that is
made all the more horrifying by the matter-of-fact manner in which it is
narrated. “How Did I Die?” is possibly as close to a rock ballad as Neubauten
could get, though this by no means makes it radio-friendly hit material. On the
whole, Lament is an uncompromising
work of art that doesn’t have patience for those who need training wheels on
their avant-gardecycles. One of the most important recordings of a long and
distinguished career.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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