Artist Unknown: Present

This German techno/dance/electro outfit hasn’t been heard from in a while, but this album, released through Datapunk member Anthony Rother’s label, is filled with adventurous electronica, beginning with “Unknown to Millions”. Moby, NIN, Devo, and the Chemical Brothers all seem to be touchstones here. The album also has a lot of flow to it, especially with the aptly titled “Movin’ Along” that does just that. Although there are the blips and bleeps as almost required, songs like “Tank” are quite solid thanks to a slow-building groove based around an airtight backbeat that is a tad industrial in tone. Things hit a rough spot during “Demons & Girls”, which never gets off the ground and sounds like a Gorillaz throwaway, but “Aciklik” is sleeker and far better, as is the jungle-tinged “Bird”. Perhaps the band outdoes itself with “Black Zeppelin”, which is not a mash-up of Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin, but a dark, eerie kind of tune in the vein of classic Depeche Mode. Another nugget almost lost in the mix is the jazzy “Relax on Me”, which has better than expected results.