GERMAN ARMY
"Burushaski" (Belaten Records)


When the world ends, and we're salvaging the ruined world for canned beans and purified water, German Army will probably be setting up to play in some crazy bunker venue, assuming they can scavenge enough batteries to power their synths. Their last tape, Youtan Polou, which came out on Chondritic Sound was one of the best tapes I heard last year, and Burushaski actually tops it. This is some truly other music, floating somewhere between industrial, noise, and synth-pop. Lots of minimal, pulsing beats, chilled out synthesizers, and baritone vocals clashing with whirring electronics and scrambled radio samples. The overall tone is extremely desolate and post apocalyptic, like a bunch of survivors piecing together entertainment from a vague memory of yesteryear. Germany Army know when to challenge your head and when to pull back. Some of these tracks are pretty scary, especially one particular track on the A side that has some of the most unsettling vocals I've ever heard, but they never linger in a frightening vibe too long before switching it up with a more melodic and dancey track, which makes for a really well paced listen. I can't recommend this enough, this a tape truly worth tracking down. 


-- Timothy Johnson