He's a bad guy, he's your friend
Bert Rinderle | L.A., CA United States | 06/29/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The insane German dark ravers Massiv in Mensch strike again, this time with a joyful haymaker called Clubber Lang. Great album title or what? Fans will be happy to hear that this new work is vintage MiM: flawless production and kinetic rhythms to keep the dancefloor flowing, and enough absurdity and unexpectedness to keep you riveted to the headphones. Advertised as a synthpop album, Lang's music doesn't sound much different from Menschdefekt, but it's the song structure and lyrics that give MiM's latest a welcome lightness that fits perfectly with the driving electronics. But there's more to this album than meets the ear.
Of course, a highlight has to be the fantastic cover of U2's classic "Sunday Bloody Sunday", with guest vocals by Sven Enzelmenn of The Promise. This 21st-century reworking almost makes Lang a must-own by itself, and is a must-hear for anyone who remembers the 80s fondly. Following that is perhaps the most straightforward track on the album, "Einen Augenblick", which sees MiM keeping things subtle and smooth without jarring expectations. It proves that the band could make a very good basic electro album if they wanted too, but MiM has never been basic nor ordinary.
Track 4 is where the fun starts. Titled "Menschdefekt", the song treads dangerously close to being actually silly. The fact that it's named after the previous album is enough to make you wonder about MiM's sanity. And yet, the song hangs together and stays focused, and serves as a portent of what Clubber Lang is intended to be.
"Hass Kot (Reloaded)" is reminiscent of KMFDM's self-reference, and "Clubber Lang" is a head-shakingly wonderful ode to Mr. T's boxer from Rocky III. The real stroke of genius arrives in the form of "Green" and "Around My Heart" - two songs that would be typical synthpop in the hands of any other band, but when combined with the rest of the album, they become overwhelmingly tongue-in-cheek and hilarious. In "Green", when vocalist Daniel Logemann almost moans "So stir the fire and pour the wine/and let those seagreen eyes divine pour their love madness into mine", it becomes glaringly obvious that Massiv in Mensch is playing a joke on us all, and is hoping we all get it. Of course, the song sticks in your head like a piece of steak in your teeth, annoying and delicious, just like a good synthpop ballad should be. "Around My Heart" is a cover voiced by Anna-Maria Straatmann, and MiM turns the song into one of the most hilariously banal broken-heart tracks imaginable.
MiM takes the instrumental route with the excellent "Endless" and "Selig (Reloaded)", reminding us that they have talent to burn. "Bitterfeld" could have been taken from the techno-slanted Menschdefekt album, and "History" is a quizzical little number that's gotta be a play on certain synthpop bands' attempts to be serious and profound.
By the time the smile-inducing and bizarre "Toast" rolls around, there's little doubt that Clubber Lang is a technically flawless album, but there's more to it than just programming proficiency. While Clubber Lang is far too experimental to become a mainstream hit, you get the sense that Massiv in Mensch is not only fine with that - they set out from the album's inception to make the most underground mainstream album they could. Even "Sunday Bloody Sunday" has a definite sarcastic tinge to it. Clubber Lang is both a tribute to and a thumbing of the nose at synthpop. MiM are programming artists, but they separate themselves from most electro bands with their creativity, humor, fearlessness, and intelligence.
Synthpop? Nice try, ArtOfFact, but that ain't even close to the whole story. If you guys had called Clubber Lang "the best album of Massiv in Mensch's career", that'd be more like it. Bravo to MiM for making an album like this, and to AoF for releasing it!"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1