GERMAN ARMY
"Kurgan Hearth" C39
(Os Tres Amigos)
What do German Army, Andre the Giant, Albert Einstein and a tweaker covered in baby oil all have in common? They’re pretty much impossible to pin down! Yes, you guessed it; GeAr continues to blurrr the ever-loving-shit outta the boundaries between industrial, ambient, tribal, and devotional genres, melding their disciplines like scratching an itch your third eye didn’t know it even had. Both expertly innovative and bewitching, this hypnotic (too upbeat for “hypnogogic”) document transports half our brains to distant Promethean ceremonial circles while dragging the other half along the exhaust-blackened walls of occupied underpasses soon to be “under construction” again.
This somewhat recent release (out of Portugal) is one of (well?) over 60 others (for GeAr) and is already sold out (of course), so give it a spin on the ol’ bandcamp (link below) and keep your eyes peeled for more brilliance in the (likely NeAr) future.
and
-- Jacob An Kittenplan
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GERMAN ARMY
"Pyura Chilensis" C35
(Luce Sia)
I could see GeAr putting out a cassette in each of the 195 countries in this world by 2020 and each and every goddamn one of them being worth the shipping/smuggling cost. Seriously, this prolific project kicks out the…well…not “jamz” per se, but some seriously entrancing tracks of the industrial/ambient/tribal/devotional/fusion variety. And just what the fuck exactly does that sound like? Well, it sounds like German Army.
This time around the globe, “Pyura Chilenses” comes out of Switzerland, and it’s a decidedly colder, more industrial offering, and just as Rock Solid as ever. My favorite track (Kaleteur Mist) pairs such disparate timbres as Andean flutes (field recorded, wafting over a valley?) and frenentic, blown out, metallic drum machines rattles that could be mined from any number of construction sites. Dynamically navigating the levels of attachment, GeAr evoke feelings of detachment and overwhelming mood-swing (of the chill variety), and it’s a damn fine trip!
Strongly recommended for anyone who loves the early Skinny Puppy instrumentals/interludes.
and
-- Jacob An Kittenplan
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GERMAN ARMY
“Swidden”
(Total Black)
“Swidden” is yet another psychic onslaught from San Bernardino’s finest purveyors of ambient industrial wreckage and postapocalyptic sonic doom. Here we find the group on Berlin’s Total Black, a total perfecto match and a total win for central Europe. A total win for us Americans, too, as we’re able to purchase things from other countries and have them shipped to us here in the States. Bet you never saw that coming.
There’s also the digital files, but what’s the point.
Brilliantly earwormy as usual, German Army tracks wriggle around like arthouse nature films, like insects in the throes of predation. These tunes burrow into your brain like rat lungworms, parasites that feed off the very activity they create. In fact, the pulsing electricity created by brainwaves reacting to “Swidden” is sheer nourishment to a vast ecosystem internal to the human body. I’m certain you’d be super grossed out if you levied it with any degree of scrutiny.
“Swidden” is not for the faint of heart. German Army is never for the faint of heart.
German Army
“Swidden” is yet another psychic onslaught from San Bernardino’s finest purveyors of ambient industrial wreckage and postapocalyptic sonic doom. Here we find the group on Berlin’s Total Black, a total perfecto match and a total win for central Europe. A total win for us Americans, too, as we’re able to purchase things from other countries and have them shipped to us here in the States. Bet you never saw that coming.
There’s also the digital files, but what’s the point.
Brilliantly earwormy as usual, German Army tracks wriggle around like arthouse nature films, like insects in the throes of predation. These tunes burrow into your brain like rat lungworms, parasites that feed off the very activity they create. In fact, the pulsing electricity created by brainwaves reacting to “Swidden” is sheer nourishment to a vast ecosystem internal to the human body. I’m certain you’d be super grossed out if you levied it with any degree of scrutiny.
“Swidden” is not for the faint of heart. German Army is never for the faint of heart.
German Army
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