White Noise

Sehr gut!

Alpinestars was an electronic rock duo formed in 1999 in Manchester by Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas. White Noise is the second album from Krautpop duo Alpinestars--a work that finds them ransacking the vaults of cult German bands like Neu! and Kraftwerk and treating them to a slick, cartoonish modern overhaul. B.A.S.I.C, their debut album from 2000, leant a little too heavily on the established pillars of Krautrock, but White Noise rejects such an abstract approach in favor of actual songs, beckoning vocals into the mix--notably, "Carbon Kid," which features guest vocals from Placebo frontman Brian Molko. This isn't just fluffy ear candy: "Burning Up" is a fine example of the Alpinestars' skill at penning an infectious pop song but their greatest skill is in the way they infuse traditionally icy Teutonic techno sounds with a syrupy warmth, elementary synthplay, synthetic motorik beats, and starburst guitar roars coalescing into one fresh-sounding whole. Where most modern practitioners of Krautrock pursue the discipline down into a mire of off-key experimentalism and difficult tempos, at their best, the Alpinestars hold true to the original purity of the music. White Noise is the sound of the future, perfect.

k.A.