German Army
Culp Valley [CS; Castle Bravo]

Culp Valley might be the closest German Army come to unmasking themselves. This boxed item (which also comes with a T-shirt that I think is fucking AWEsome) unclutters the mystery just a bit. In fact, my daughter asked me “what kind of music is this?” when I was listening to a different GeAr tape (Remain in Exhile) and I didn’t even know what to tell her (Exhile is one of the weirder ones; I went with, “Darkwave?”). But Culp is a prog tape first and foremost, redolent of Harmonia and Neu! more than what you’d normally associate with the shady San Bernadino, Calif., duo. But the guttural, yet soothing, litany of fell voices remains, like a tamer DJ Expressway Yo-Yo Dieting, stuttering and hiccuping like a children’s toy running out of batteries. I’m loving the linear synth programming and motorik beat, coupled with the usual icy-cold crispies we’ve come to expect when GeAr gets snapping, crackling, and popping. The other side is more of a chill, post-Portishead’s-latest-album, but bleaker, groove, a head-nodder that will surprise you with how much it packs into a minimalist template. Explorations such as this render it almost impossible to wait patiently for the next German Army aural communication. Then again, in the last month or two a Peter Kris solo tape, and three other GeAr releases have come in, so I should just be happy Kris and partner-in-crack Norm Heston are so dedicated to flooding the market — in a good way — for all of us to hear. What’s most exciting is who knows where this project is going. German Army could end up winning an Oscar for soundtracking a particularly dark war film or dying in the gutter when none of us are looking. Let’s hope they keep delivering the heroin highs, and lows, we’ve come so accustomed to nodding off to.

Links: Castle Bravo

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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