gullbuy music review

Laub

title

Fileshaving

label

Kitty-Yo

format
12inch

Laub fileshavinga1: 30 Grad starts us out with an amazing 9 minute track. Combining a persistent, yet subtle beat and melody, drone background, dubbed out guitar, clicking rhythms and dreamy vocals, Laub have become one of my favorite artists thanks to this 12 inch single.

a2: Umdrehn (8 minutes) is more percussive and drum heavy from the start. Dubby electronics and plaintive bass melodies help offset the persistent percussion as echoed wordless female vocals combine with high-end synths in a wind of chaos. Every once in awhile, everything stops, or sputters, only to return to the everflowing dub workout.

b1: Alles Anders (7 minutes) starts out with a hesitatingly straight forward tom rhythm, and various manipulated voices which seem to be saying 'laub' and 'morgan' amongst other less obvious things. Flitting percussive electronic permeate the mix, but the main focus are the many ambiently-drenched doubletracked, tripletracked etc female voices. The rhythm comes and goes: sometimes we're left hovering, other times things are flitting dubstyle, lurchingly. Around the 6 minute mark, things seem to disintegrate, as the rhythm breaks up in electronic gurgles and voices become sped up or slowed down.

b2: Craig Im Getriebe (9 minutes) seamlessly mixes with the previous track, the rhythm has changed considerably with a subdued snare pattern, and a steadier approach to the background ambience. The voices and electronics are more dreamy and less broken. The snare pattern does start to get manipulated, more complicated as a more recognizable lead vocal comes to the fore. The vocals don't seem to be saying recognizable words, even in German. The ambient bass is seeping through the background, while the rhythm slaps into dubby watery parts. Spicing things up around the 6 and a half minute mark, the voices disappear replaced by an echoing keyboard and various percussive washes, most of the rhythm having dropped out

---Patrick Rands, June 25, 2002