GERMAN ARMY - Endless Phonics LP

Highly recommended.

After unleashing a blizzard of tapes on a bevy of labels, the Germany Army has advanced to the vinyl format via Endless Phonics. While the crisp sound of a 12" record is a bit too pristine for this neo-industrial, coldwave-ing, post-Disco Inferno outfit (the woozy warble of a tape is where they find womblike comfort), they make do and, when it’s all said and done, turn in one of their best efforts yet.

They present a fascinating melding of traditions that would almost certainly be rendered contradictory by less-skilled craftsmen, with cold, factory-line rhythms that often harbor surprising complexity, a bleak landscape not unlike the more dissembled work of Mike Sniper, and vocals that veer into territory previously secured by Pumice’s Stefan Neville.

This is uneasy listening.