Einstürzende Neubauten – ALLES IN ALLEM

German Industrial Post-Punk pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten release new album, ALLES IN ALLEM.

I’ve never really listened to Einstürzende Neubauten as much as I should have but I’ve always enjoyed what I’ve heard. I particularly like their use of bizarre percussion, such as metal sheets, which gave their music that distinctly industrial sound. This industrial sound went on to influence the formation of the entire Post-Punk sub-genre we now call Industrial.

ALLES IN ALLEM is relatively downtempo from the get go. Opening track, Ten Grand Goldie, revels in electronic kick drums and bizarre metallic clangs. The melodies are incredibly simple and eerie. Dark. The vocals throughout the album have a haunting, chanted quality which fits well with the dolorous soundscapes.

As with the majority of their material, industrial percussion is embedded deep in the sonic texture. Möbliertes Lied seems to have grinding glass and/or bags of stones being played as instruments. There’s a high pitched sound, somewhere between a klaxon and a road drill, at the start of the following track, Zivilisatorisches Missgeschick. It soon breaks down into a minimal composition of delay-drenched xylophone-esque sounds and synth stabs. Occasional cracks & clangs of white noise based percussion cut through the gloom like an air raid.

This may be outside of some folks comfort zones, as it is incredibly dark & incredibly weird experimental. It’s an exercise in unusual sound design and dark vibes. Unfortunately, this writer cannot comment on the lyrics as he does not speak German but I can still feel the emotions in the melancholic vocal melodies.

ALLES IN ALLEM is out now on all the usual streaming services. Check out this excellent video for the title track and then head on over to Spotify (or wherever) & give the album a listen. You (hopefully) won’t regret it.