Faust IV

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Performer: Faust
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Includes liner notes by David Ilic. Widely acknowledged as one of Faust's finest works, IV finds these ground-breaking German proggies strutting their collective Euro-stuff on a collection of songs more varied and lighthearted than their previous releases. Starting off with the genre-defining "Krautrock," the band sets up sheets of electronic sound that bounce off each other endlessly, creating a kaleidoscopic feel, while the insistent beat conjures up images of great drooling beasts jumping incessantly up and down. The band steps outside of its comfort zone on "The Sad Skinhead," a loopy reggae sendup. Elsewhere there are quiet, acoustic moments amid the electronic frenzy. "Jennifer" and "It's A Bit Of A Pain," while maintaining the deconstructed feel of the other tunes, are downright poignant. Coming on the heels of the cut-and-paste sound-collage schizophrenia of The Faust Tapes, Faust IV seems relatively subdued and conventional, though it's still a far cry from what anyone outside the German avant-garde rock scene was doing. The album's disparate threads don't quite jell into something larger (as in the past), but there's still much to recommend it. The nearly 12-minute electro-acoustic opener "Krautrock" is sometimes viewed as a comment on Faust's droning, long-winded contemporaries, albeit one that would lose its point by following the same conventions. There are a couple of oddball pop numbers that capture the group's surreal sense of whimsy: one, "The Sad Skinhead," through its reggae-ish beat, and another, "It's a Bit of a Pain," by interrupting a pastoral acoustic guitar number with the most obnoxious synth noises the band can conjure. Aside from "Krautrock," there is a trend toward shorter track lengths and more vocals, but there are still some unpredictably sudden shifts in the instrumental pieces, even though it only occasionally feels like an idea is being interrupted at random (quite unlike The Faust Tapes). There are several beat-less, mostly electronic soundscapes full of fluttering, blooping synth effects, as well as plenty of the group's trademark Velvet Underground-inspired guitar primitivism, and even a Frank Zappa-esque jazz-rock passage. Overall, Faust IV comes off as more a series of not-always-related experiments, but there are more than enough intriguing moments to make it worthwhile. Unfortunately, it would be the last album the group recorded (at least in its first go-round). ~ Steve Huey Widely acknowledged as one of Faust's finest works, IV finds these ground-breaking German proggies strutting their collective Euro-stuff on a collection of songs more varied and lighthearted than their previous releases. Starting off with the genre-defining "Krautrock," the band sets up sheets of electronic sound that bounce off each other endlessly, creating a kaleidoscopic feel, while the insistent beat conjures up images of great drooling beasts jumping incessantly up and down. The band steps outside of its comfort zone on "The Sad Skinhead," a loopy reggae sendup. Elsewhere there are quiet, acoustic moments amid the electronic frenzy. "Jennifer" and "It's A Bit Of A Pain," while maintaining the deconstructed feel of the other tunes, are downright poignant.

Spin (p.117) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[P]retty awesome -- especially the alternate version of 'Krautrock,' a hypnotic guitar-drone manifesto." Uncut (p.128) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] 'Jennifer', a strange tripped-out love song almost unequalled in the annals of psychedelia. A strange, rubbery, reverbed bassline and a gently circling guitar figure conjure a mood of spacey and sacred serenity..." The Wire (p.66) - "FAUST IV is essential, continuing to highlight the group's capacity for shapeshifting and mood swings." Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[P]assages sound beautiful and alien by today's standards..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.153) - "[A] curate's egg of an album...It stands as their most accessible album, containing inspired pieces..."

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