Antiguo Autómata Mexicano - “Rother. Dinger. You and Me.” from 2007’s Kraut Slut.

AAM may be the least subtle Neu! fans in Mexico. The song title gives it away.

That said, this track — and album — while certainly Harmonia influenced, doesn’t sound too much like Neu!. It sounds like the mid-period minimal tracks from Kraftwerk. Think second-halves of Autobahn or Radioactivity with a bit of a drive.

I first saw them live at Decibel Festival 2007 in Seattle. They sounded very different than this. They were full-on Suicide/DAF style synth-punk, and they absolutely destroyed. It was a little disappointing to not hear that when I bought this, but Kraut Slut is a good album anyway, especially if you like minimal techno.

Prolapse “Slash/Oblique” (from 1997’s The Italian Flag)

With all the fuss about M.I.A.’s “Born Free” (which is worth it, IMHO), by all means an obvious homage to the New York duo Suicide musically, the track is also inadvertently reminiscent of this track by the more recent band, Prolapse, who were biting at Suicide in their own unique layered way.

Prolapse are the only band I can remember that not only had two confrontational vocalists, but were most often confrontational toward each other, and still managed to go all over place, melodically, sonically. If Damian Abraham from Fucked Up had a female counterpart up front, this could give you a small idea what Prolapse were once like.

There’s no doubt that Alan Vega, M.I.A., Mick Derrick, and Linda Steelyard (the latter two being the primary vocalists in Prolapse) all have widely varying singing styles. Still, this track and “Born Free” remind that some bands become anthemic legends via their sonic blueprint much more so any particular hit songs: Suicide, Pussy Galore, The Stooges, The Jesus And Mary Chain (while they were making their blueprint anyway) and many others.

The first notes of “This Time” by Th’ Faith Healers sold me immediately.  While at my alma mater’s college radio station, everyone there including myself was drowning in everything sludge, grunge, kraft, kraut, shoegaze, sludgegaze, whatever.  1992’s Lido took very little time to make all the rockers happy. Th Faith Healers could play as mean as any band on Amphetamine Reptile, could swirl out better than a Ride or Lush bridge, and wore their Can and Neu! badges on their uniforms.  What’s more understated is Th Faith Healers’ accurate approximation to bands like The Telescopes in their earlier days and Loop.

Speaking of which, both Th Faith Healers and Loop have covered Can’s “Mother Sky.” Both versions are excellent for very different reasons.  Loop’s version wins for being faithful to the original (and hence was my direct gateway to Can, period.) However, Th Faith Healers’ brief, anxious, and monstrous cover of “Mother Sky” is the best cover of them all.

I missed this band touring with The Breeders in 1994.  And I’ve been on the wrong coast to catch the recent reunion shows in the U.S.  I have few live concert regrets, and not seeing Th Faith Healers live is one of them.

Ectogram are a trio of Welsh Faust worshippers, one of which is Alan Holmes who runs the decade-plus independent label Ankst, which were the initial home of fellow, mellower welsh groups Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.

Holmes and fellow band member and singer Ann Matthews have been playing together for over 20 years, having started in the group Fflaps (a rock band looong overdue for reissuing of some sort.) Whereas Fflaps play a heavier weird rock pop, Ectogram put the word “KOSMISCHE” in front of that descriptor with giant colorful neon signs pointing at it.

Included is the song “Rapier” from their debut album from 1996 with the rather dour title I Can’t Believe It’s Not Reggae! “Rapier” stands out as the high-paced sweaty, perverted noise opus on the album, although every song is great.

Ectogram are still together, although not as prolific as they were in the mid 90s.  Their latest album from 2007, Fluff On A Faraway Hill, may be slower and may not have hair-raising moments like “Rapier”.. however they are still a very loud band and thankfully very good at it.