You'd be hard pressed to find a more interesting techno outfit than these Germans. I believe the word "techno" actually morphed into "electronic" a couple of years back, as the previous term brought up images of computer geeks with their laptops creating an electronic symphony for their tortured lives. Either than or techno conjured up images of hedonistic dance clubs and empty bass heavy beats. Whatever. Vulvaland is MOM's debut and honestly I thought it would be more screwed up than it actually is. After subsequent listens, I've found that this is a very fun album to listen to. Cerebral and complex for sure, but the opening track "Frosch" is a very bouncy, club-savy track. What one notices right off the bat is how textured everything is, that is, every sound or pattern or beat has a purpose here, and it all forms into a coherent, pulsating whole. While the opening track flirts with house beats, the second "Elli Im Wunderland" is kind of a spacey dub track with a series of blips and bleeps that fade in and out. Really chilled stuff. I'm sure chilled is the term I'm looking for here. I've spent many a night falling asleep to this record, not because it bores me but because it either soothes or hyptontizes me or both.
There are no vocals, at least, no coherent vocals. There is a sighing vocal on track 4, but MOM are strictly an instrumental outfit. There are strains of free jazz and kraut rock, but everything here is very electronic. There is not a single acoustic instrument in sight. I believe the kraut rock tag just exists because these guys are German. If anything, there are flashes of Can in the repetitive grooves but that's about it. "Die Seele Von Brian Wilson" continues the abstract beat weirdness. I'm not sure what that means, or how the song relates to Brian Wilson, but it still is interesting nonetheless. "Katang" is the album's closing track and seems to meander directionless into nothingness...which I suppose is the point artistically. For music this intelligent, you could analyze it from every angle and still come up short, or you could just shake your ass and have a good time.
This is a great debut. MOM were later signed on Thrill Jockey records out of Chicago which cemented their popularity with indie kids and electronic geeks alike in North America, and Vulvaland promised great records to come. It's hard to believe that this record is nine years old because it sounds so fresh today. Definitely recomended both as a starting point for the group, and for those seeking a little substance to their grooves. The record's relevance in undeniable among all the beat merchants and sound abstractionists in the electronic music landscape today.
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