 |
|
Harald 'Sack' Ziegler, "Punkt"
The collection of obscure older tracks from this Cologne-sceneüber-collaborator replaces a legacy of pastoral ambience and blessed outelectronica with the exuberances of a bedroom pop star, leaving me feeling abit punkt.
The title says it all. Point, spot, period, German play on words, or English slang, it fitseach way. Every song on here references pointed,popular punk ideology and stylization, and every one makes me feel like I’vebeen tricked into listening.
Sold as acollection of Ziegler’s “greatest hits,” Punktactually compiles the artist’s earliest releases, most of them basement issuecassettes that probably go back to his youth. Having known Ziegler only from his work with Sack und Blumm, Mouse onMars, and as a figurehead in the A-musik scene, I feel mislead by thepresentation of this record: I want timelessnaïve pop ambient; I want the ancient bedroom tapes with Ziegler mixing streetnoise and naked harmonium drones for the first time; I want the childhoodinspirations for Sack und Blumm’s toy world. I do not want songs like “Barbie & Ken” and “Teenage Lover,”sounding like Royal Trux 20 years back with no drugs, no “singing” voice, andraised on German television.
Punkt is 22 lo-fi punkish pop tunesexecuted by a one-man-band with a predictably keen melodic sense and the necessaryexuberance; it’s just not close to the Zeigler I know and that’s disappointing. Staubgold’s last release of this nature, acollection from faceless German pop recluse Die Welttraumforscher, was a brilliant and literal borrowing from FelixKubin’s (Gagarin Records’) back-catalog, as well as a successful fusion of theunknown, always quirky German pop landscape and the contemporary electronicscene peopled by the likes of Barbara Morgenstern, Mouse on Mars, etc. Punktmight’ve benefited similarly, from an extra disc of remixes, or even aredux by Ziegler alone. As it is, thesesongs are inspiring and revolting in equal and simultaneous doses; nowhere isthe otherworldlyness or the subtle nostalgic currents touching ‘Sack’’ssubsequent work. Here is the playfulpunker kid in everyone, only it might be more engaging if it were just anyone.
samples:
Greg Davis, Ben Vida (Bird Show), and Keith "Hrvatski" Whitman
Greg Davis, Ben Vida, and Keith Fullerton Whitman each have new albums on Kranky and are on the road, touring and playing together as a trio for the first time. While we settled on the name of this Eye segment as "Nightcrawlers," rejected titles included "Menage a' Beard," "Friends That Play Together Stay Together," and "Banjovi." Hopefully we can look forward to an amazing album from the three eventually.
