S/T – Irregulare Palpitationen: Remixes by The Grand Erector

Barbelo

Remix albums never seem to make a very cohesive whole; they also don’t serve very well as an introduction to an artist in general. Some are just a money-making activity rehashing band material whereas others are for die hard fans and completists only. Some artists even refuse to talk about their remix albums as was the case with Blixa Bargeld when I interviewed him around the time of the Ende Neu remix album and was told “not to ask him about it” by his agent.

Unfortunately this release, I feel, will not earn S/T any new fans. It starts off with one of two versions of “Irregulare Palpitationen Lord of The Flies” mix, that clocks in at nearly 20 minutes. Within the first five I felt my mind drifting off thinking about the washing up and whether the cat needs feeding. The music seems to try and cross the boundaries between industrial and krautrock and doing neither satisfactorily. Two chords chug away over a rather weak motorik drum beat that leads into some fairly nice lead guitar but still not enough to grab the attention. Yes it has elements of Faust and also Throbbing Gristle on a hangover. There is simply something missing here, something that doesn’t quite fit together properly, and at its current length it’s far too long and meanders into a dead end, which is almost how I felt by the time it reached its conclusion.

The Clutch mix of “Automobbing” fares little better as it sounds like an insipid Revolting Cocks 12inch on an 18 minute autopilot to nowhere. “Don’t Tell Me Lies” is a jaunty little number whose main saving grace is that it lasts under five minutes and so doesn’t outstay its welcome like a drunken relative at Xmas. Then we are back to another 23 minute mix of “Irregulare….” – this time it’s a Lord Of Air mix. So unless you really like to hear over 40 minutes over the same song being messed around with on one glorious album, then I would suggest you look elsewhere. If the mixes had more variety and were about half the length with a wider range of tracks being mixed this might have been a more interesting record. As stands it feels like a missed opportunity.

-Gary 93-