Moderat – “Reminder” (Singles Going Steady)

Sam Taylor: Premier purveyors of the weird Moderat return, collaborating for a third time with aural ally Apparat on “Reminder”, with a swirling techno soundscape that evokes Trentemøller’s music as much as it does In Rainbows-era Radiohead. The track’s press release claims that Apparat’s vocals present, “an unfiltered insight into his personal take on the journey we call life – he is opening up, discussing his shadow, his fears and doubts.” If “Reminder” is a good example of what’s to come, then new album III can’t come soon enough. [8/10]

Jedd Beaudoin: Less is more, eh? Good on this lot for that. The vocalist has a Thom Yorke thing but who can blame him, really. I’ll take this over 80 percent of the stuff I’ve heard in the last 24 hours. [8/10]

Chad Miller: Featuring especially slick production, the track is pretty enjoyable. A good atmosphere is set during the last minute as the track builds and settles. It’s not always clear what he’s trying to say though as some of his lines could be about almost anything or maybe more appropriately, nothing. [7/10]

Magdalen Jenne: The draw here for me is the gradual coalescences of unmetered percussion into a beat you could play in a club. Some of the vocal processing is distracting from what is otherwise a fun, pulsing piece of minimally robotic techno. [6/10]

Ari Rosenschein: Expansive, percussive, melodic, contemporary, timeless. “Burning bridges light my way”, sings Sascha Ring sings in a voice as soulful as Adele’s isn’t. The mid-song break into Depeche style darkwave catches me off guard. All of sudden, I notice how refreshing the chorus’ jungle style drum pattern feels. Moderat gives a “Reminder” of how obvious the real deal is when you encounter it. [8/10]

Moderat’s new EP, Reminder, releases February 26th, while new LP, III, drops April 1st via Monkeytown/Mute.

SCORE: 7.40