After unleashing a blizzard of tapes on a bevy of labels, many of which were chronicled by Cerberus, the Germany Army has advanced to the vinyl format via Endless Phonics. While the crisp sound of a 12-inch record is a bit too pristine for this neo-industrial, coldwave-ing, post-Disco Inferno outfit (the woozy warble of a tape is where they find womblike comfort), they make do and, when it’s all said and done, turn in one of their best efforts yet. They present a fascinating melding of traditions that would almost certainly be rendered contradictory by less-skilled craftsmen, with cold, factory-line rhythms that often harbor surprising complexity, a bleak landscape not unlike the more dissembled work of Mike Sniper, and vocals that veer into territory previously secured by Pumice’s Stefan Neville. There are even traces of the calculated despair of my all-time favorite long-lost unknown 2000s band, Audio Ovni. A lull or two early on Side B get smoothed over by “Vienna State,” a winding staircase that never ends. Fuck yes. When a band unleashes as much music into the world as German Army do, you wonder if that intense spirit is going to burn out before the mission has been accomplished. Endless Phonics puts that fear to rest and could end up charting a whole new course for this mysterious group of audio nihilists.
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