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Von Sudenfed
A brutal electronic strop from Mouse on Mars welded to Mark E Smith bawling and drunkenly slurring at his most economic and surreal. Mark E Smith has always understood the value of repetition, and with techno music, this is of course especially important. Not that I can picture in my mind this music going down terribly well alongside the dancefloor fillers of today but we can dream. Neither Mouse On Mars or The Fall/Mark E Smith appear to actually need each other, each act getting along fine on their own, yet the chance to bring new audiences to each other seems to have spurred on the project. Well, that and the fact Mark E Smith is likely a genuine fan of Mouse On Mars. He even sees fit to sing 'Speech Contamination - German Fear Of Österreich' in German. I don't speak a word of German, yet this track makes as much sense as any other track here does lyrically, the very title 'German Fear Of Österreich' having no meaning and being purely a mischievous Mark E Smith joke. As true as night follows day, 'Fledermaus Can't Get It' appears to be a swipe at Fall disciples 'LCD Soundsystem'. It quickly becomes apparent that Mark E Smith is the real deal, rather than the admitedly sincere tributes of LCD Soundsystem, Von Sudenfed simply have so much more power as an entity. Mark E Smith holds nothing back and neither do the Mouse Of Mars guys, bringing a whole arsenal of unrelenting beats and experiments to the table. The album rarely lets you have time to breathe, you get swept along in the sheer excitement of it all, clearly a great thing.
Von Sudenfed
Albums
Von Sudenfed
Relations
Tromatic Reflexxions 9 ( 2007 )
Fledermaus Can't Get It / The Rhinohead / Flooded / Family Feud / Serious Brainskin / Speech Contamination - German Fear of Österreich / The Young the Faceless and the Codes / Duckrog / Chicken Yiamas / That Sound Wiped / Jbak Lois Lane / Dearest Friends
'Rhinohead' is utterly superb, the track that most approaches friendly melodies both musically and vocally. Indeed, it's quite amazing how the two different camps of Mouse On Mars and Mark E Smith seem simply made for each other. 'Chicken Yaiamas' opens with an acoustic guitar and Mark E Smith going on about boiling a chicken. Is 'Yiamas' something to do with Greek? Whatever, the song is hugely entertaining, Mark E Smith getting off on one of his more enjoyable bonkers moments. In a similar hilarious vein in Mark E Smith's tale of disc jockeys pissing themselves and the floor flooding during the stomping, unremittingly unrelenting beats of 'Flooded'. The closing 'Dearest Friends' provides welcome respite and these moments of respites, few and far between, are sprinkled just right across the album. An african guitar is heard, Mark E Smith lamenting the loss of 'Dearest Friends' quite tenderly. On that note, we can be sure John Peel would have absolutely adored Von Sudenfed, and 'Dearest Friends', coincidently or not, seems to pack in several things John would have liked. 'I am the great MES' says MES during 'Family Feud' and on the evidence of Von Sudenfed, few are likely to seriously disagree with him. A glorious modern album that shames most of the mediocrity clogging up the airwaves.
Add A Comment? Readers Comments
Stephen stephendfall@yahoo.co.uk
I know it's only August, but this could well be the album of the year. It's possibly the best thing Mark E. Smith has done this decade.Mike
The word Österreich actually means "Austria" in German. So, replacing one word, the title "German Fear of Austria" makes one whole hell of a lot of sense. I've never heard this album, but it looks good. Unfortunately, Smith, in his words, "got the sack from sud," so don't expect another one. At least anytime soon.
this page last updated 11/3/08
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