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It's because of this rapid growth spurt that the music is that of a band trying to find their sound. From the beginning, however, it's clear that compromise isn't something the band wanted to do: they weren't going to make music within rigid pop structures nor were they going to make their songs more commercially accessible outside of Germany by singing in English. For the first few tracks from 1980, Neubauten actually sounded like a punk group completely disillusioned with the empty promises of punk: traditional rock instruments like drums, guitar and bass were used to make the noises, but these weren't songs written with the pop template as most 1970s punk actually did. Rhythms pound as Blixa shouts over wailing guitar effects and a pulsing bass on "Fuer den Untergang" and its B-side, "Tan-Ze-Dub," unfortunately mastered from a record. Electronic drills and other unconventional toys and electronics trickle into the mix with each track but at the time—this early in EN's developmental stage—sound effects are still being used more for decoration than composition. This is, of course, until FM Einheit joins in 1981. In 1981, with the addition of Hacke on guitar, it's almost as if the band became both more of a rock band AND were able to use their signature metal, drills, and everything else and the kitchen sink as an integral piece of the rhythm backbone. The aggression drives much of the music until the arguable climax of this disc, the epic 9+ minute track with Lydia Lunch, "Thirsty Animal," with a patiently drawn out rhythmless opening of their groundbreaking homebuilt pipe machine. Everything drops out after more than two minutes in for a restrained beat backing Lydia's forceful vocals, mixed low enough to force any listener paying attention to raise the levels, pushing that hypnotic drum pattern to unavoidable levels. Gritty guitars are matched with screeching sound effects, backwards noises, and a brief vocal appearance from Blixa. Unfortunately "Thirsty Animal" and its B-side "Durstiges Tier" are mastered from records but it doesn't make the music any less intense. While this compilation is undoubtedly essential to all EN fans, I would honestly recommend newbies to get some of the more monumental albums first, because I can guarantee Kalte Sterne will eventually make it into the collection.
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