Faust – C'est Com… Com… Complique

"There is no group more mythical than Faust” claimed Julian Cope in his ‘Krautrocksampler’. Since they emerged fully formed from the rural German home of Wumme in 1971 Faust have confounded fans and critics alike, continuously innovating, evolving and ploughing their own distinctive furrow all the while. After literally disappearing in 1975 the band re-emerged in 1990 and have since then have collaborated with a variety of musicians, including Jim O’Rourke, dalek and Nurse with Wound. It is perhaps only as a result of their status as currently extant artists that their output and back catalog isn’t as celebrated by hipsters and musos as the latest in a long line of Can or Neu! reissues. Yet now, as then, Faust remain unafraid to play with traditional musical structures and forms, demonstrating a playful and light experimentalism. For this latest record the two founder members Jean-Herve Peron (bass) and Werner “Zappi” Diermaier (drums) team up with regular live accomplice Amaury Cambuzat (guitar).Opener ‘Kundalini Tremeloes’ is a frantic peice that spins between the twin focuses of Cambuzat’s buzzsaw tremelo guitars and Diermaier’s hypnotic percussion. The literal translation of ‘Kundalini’ is ‘coil’, and it is said to represent an unconscious, instinctive or libidonous power, that can be released by breathing exercises, resulting in ‘infinite bliss’ Quite whether the frantic panting that overlays the guitar spirals here will bring bliss of any form is debateable, but it does enduce a trancelike state, a mood continued by the two note drone of “Accroche a tes Levres”, which builds on Peron’s bass and spoken French proclomations untill exploding into distorted, frustrated life at the end of the song.“Ce chemin est le bon” sees Faust layering shimmering ambient sounds and nylon guitars, winding alongside Diermaier’s metronomic, taut percussion and an underpinning throbbing melody courtesy of Peron’s bass. Guitars splinter and drone as the sounds become more discordant underneath a mantra like repetition of the songs title. The track spirals ever upwards in a crescendo of noise before falling away into the throat singing and murmuring of ‘Stimmen’. It isn’t exactly what you would call an easy listen. In fact it sounds quite similar to the sounds Walruses seem to make on wildlife documentaries.Contrary as ever, Faust follow this aural primitivism with the light electronic piano waltz of ‘Petits sons appetissants’. It serves as a moments light relief, but it isn’t long before Diermaier’s pulverizing rhythms come into play again, Cambuzat’s layered guitar skittering away competing against parping horns and strings combining to form a tribal, doom laden apocalyptic march. If the Dead ever do rise, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was to the sound of 'Bonjour Gioacchino'. 'En veux-tu des effets, en voila' takes a more traditional structure, the most straight ahead song of this set- a call and response between Peron’s Bass, and Diermaiers once again pummeling his kit into submission as guitars squawk and arch in the background. It’s like listening to a less acerbic, French speaking Fall. Bringing it all to a close is the epic titular track, which combines all that has gone before on the record in one piece, ambient keyboards, found sounds and surreal savant- spoken word French combine with industrial sound and languorous percussion. Now my French isn’t up to much, but it’s something about a cat being up a tree. And that it is important to look at the tiger. Then there’s some more found sounds before the electronics whip up a storm, and metal clangs and Diermaier comes in with some ear splitting metal-work to accompany some rasping horn. This is a testing listen. It’s..It’s...yeah, you know where this is going, it’s complicated.While at times this is a challenging listen,it somehow manages to conjure a feeling of delicacy to temper it’s more primal side. It is also refreshing to see an act now entering their 38th year still trying to push the boundries, not just happy to churn out endless variations of their seminal ‘Krautrock’. Long may they continue. 72% Faust on Myspace