Perpetuum Mobile is Einstürzende Neubauten's follow-up to their last full-length release, 2000's Silence Is Sexy. Like its predecessor, this album is a remarkably quiet affair for Blixa Bargeld and crew, who in previous decades were known for their chaotic, violent bursts of industrial noise. The title track is an epic 14-minute travelogue in German, but with occasional words in English leaping out like, "escalator", "luggage cart" and "gin 'n' tonic". Consult the beautifully produced booklet of lyrics and you discover that it’s all about constantly moving from A to B because of love. Suddenly it all makes perfect sense. Any traveler can identify with the endless round of airports, planes, taxis and soulless hotel rooms.
We are faced with numerous subtle, yet amazingly melodic industrialized numbers throughout the CD. As usual, the list of "instruments" includes, among the expected guitars and percussion, air compressors, plastic tubes, paper, polystyrene flakes, sheet metal and, of course, your usual assortment of metal appliances. The result is surprisingly harmonious. The idea of clanging homemade instruments with German lyrics is simply intoxicating.
Perpetuum Mobile is a beautiful creation, with tracks ranging from lyrical sound-pictures, with a huge canvas of inventive and arresting sounds to tempt the ear - Ein Leichtes Leises Säuseln (A Whisper Light And Low), Ich Gehe Jetzt (I’m Going Now) and a standout track, Youme & Meyou. This is a revelation - a gentle, melodious song that reveals Blixa possesses an astonishingly tender voice when the mood takes him. It can never be anything but deep, but here it’s warm. "Ein Seltener Vogel", on the other hand, is a quiet, nine minute tune with a convincing, intense vocal part - it is only in the last two minutes that the track builds to a powerful climax, overdriven guitars and all.
This album sees Einstürzende Neubauten purveying what can only be considered unconventional brilliance.
