Get your Kraut on: Oasis, Sonic Youth, Foals dig NEU!

Krautrock (German rock music primarily made in the late 60s to 70s) has become an increasing influence on popular alternative music: name checked heavily by new artists, while its original bands glaze in the glow of renewed interest in their genre-defining exploits.

As Julian Cope of 80s saviours The Teardrop Explodes gushed in his out of print 1995 book Krautrocksampler, German rock and electronica of this period oozed sonic ideas and out-there journeys of musical brilliance that sound fresh to this day. Alongside NEU!, a duo who released three essential studio albums in the early 70s are Can (arguably better, druggier and artier), Faust, Cluster and Harmonia (who featured Michael Rother of NEU!).



On Brand NEU! released this week on the Feraltone label, Oasis pop up with b-side 'I Can See It Now' which detects basic, monkey-like traces of NEU! but not much - we suspect their involvement ties in with marketing initiatives, while Primal Scream's 'Shoot Speed / Kill Light' reminds us of 2000's XTRMNTR album that made them briefly the most vital band on planet earth. Of the new breed, Foals, Holy Fuck and School of Seven Bells pull in admirable NEU! aping tuneage, while Cornelius' 'Wataridori' is a real find:



Overall the track listing is varied, listenable and accessible for the uninitiated. However, we're left wondering how the project would've unfolded with artists covering NEU! songs rather than presenting their own, and (hypothetically) how self-confessed NEU! disciples David Bowie, Pere Ubu and Stereolab may have interpreted NEU!'s considerable influence.

Live: School of Seven Bells

School of Seven Bells

Night & Day Café, Manchester

27^th February

‘SOLD OUT’ reads the paper sign outside the Night and Day Café in the heart of the cities still hip Northern Quarter. Whilst a number of flash venues have established themselves in Manc-land over the past year, Night & Day still stands as the holy grail of dank, dark gigging to many folk about town.

Decidedly non-plussed after witnessing the back end of Apache Beat’s taut art-rock set, we find Leicestershire’s Kyte limbering up around their instruments. Still very much developing after a couple of low key EP releases, they’ve since hit their stride in the live arena. These lads don’t look they’d be much fun on a night out, but their musical ambition is matched with achingly beautiful tunes to comfort anyone through a harsh winter. You’ll either want to hug or strangle singer Nick Moon and his unique vocals, but we’re left with more evidence of this bands growing reputation.

School of Seven Bells are late onstage due to woes on the M6 but any cobwebs are blown away with a balanced set taking in the majority of Alpinisms, their ‘out-now’ debut album. Early on, ‘Prince Of Peace’ neatly brings together glitched beats with stuttering vocal harmonies from identical twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, while on glorious single ‘Half Asleep’, Benjamin Curtis provides avalanches of gorgeous, controlled feedback noise. The beat heavy ‘Iamundernodisguise’ is a spooky journey into prog guitar sounds and chanted vocals, and ‘Connjur’ takes cues from Au Revoir Simone’s dream-pop; the colliding guitar and synth melodies stealing our breath away.

We’ll sleep well tonight.

Written originally for Clash Music