Neu! came in to existence in the wake of break up of krautrock pioneers Kraftwerk. Neu!'s eponymous 1972 debut retains much of the sleek and mechanical instrumentation that was a staple of Kraftwerk's techno-robot-rock, however this album veers from the any of the techno elements that made Kraftwerk's brilliance slightly cheesy. There are also no vocals on Neu! This is pure instrumentation. The album kick's off with "Hallogallo" who's driving beat and sweeping guitar/keyboard soundscapes evolve over the course of 11 minutes, and although it never strays far from home, it never gets boring. That really could sum up the whole album. Neu! is in some senses a drone album, each track sticking around a certain sonic plateau and just playing around on it. However, it balances it's ambient drone with hard groove. For such a mechanical album, there is a whole lot of soul.
One of the greatest moments on the album is on "Negativland." The 9 minute track drives and grooves on relentlessly before just dropping you, mid-bar into silence. It's testament to Neu!'s compositional skills that I was truly shocked and started when it the groove I had become lost in disappeared.
Neu! has been ridiculously influential on everyone from Radiohead to Iggy Pop (Negativland's bass line could be straight from a Joy Division song too) as well as most electronic music. It's hard to imagine where we'd be with out this album. You shouldn't listen to this album because it's a prototype tho. Rather you should listen to it because it's still fresh and vibrant today.
Summary: Sleek and beautiful, this thing hums along and never tires you out.
Best Track: Negativland
Rating: [9/10]
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