Reviewing S/T: << REW (Save Our Sperms SOS 16-19)
There are records and there is passion. When it comes to this limited (100 copies) release the indisputable passion that comes along withit is so overwhelming that it´ll leave you with your mouth wide open. What we get is a box set from German Krautrock explorers S/T that contains 4 CDRs, a 200 page book, posters and a lyric booklet. Everything is handmade and deliciously designed and packaged. If the stunning package is intended to disarm any kind of criticism Ican only say that they´ve succeeded. How can one possibly not enjoy a release like this?*
Fortunately for my journalistic reliability (if I ever had any in the first place) the music is over the top as well. Each of the four discs is a carefully crafted work of aural transcendence and mind expansion where S/Tpresents their own brooding modern interpretation of every Krautrockesque soundscape you can imagine. From repetitive grooves spiced with bizarre samples, meditative synth lines and hypnotic guitars to layered electronic clouds and overdriven guitar freak-outs. And in-between they cross expansice walls of drone hypnotism and swirling feedback to take the listener over calm waters and then lift them higher into the atmosphere, riding inside the jet stream. Synth, guitars and keyboards figure in heavily on these discs, but there´s also plenty of vocals, bass, loops, samples and various other instruments to make up these loose recordings that somehow generate a sense of impending destruction that only adds to the beauty of what these guys pull off. This stuff can occasionally get a bit monotonous over nearly 275 minutes, but considering the packaging and the overall sonic qualities it´s a great deal for those in search for space, psych and kraut.
Mats Gustafsson, The Broken Face #14, 2003-06-08