49 minutes, 31 seconds

Der Arbeiter
Reflejos del Sol

I'm not sure what you'd call this kind of music--midtempo ambient? It's got a slight military-pop feel, à la later-period Allerseelen, but I wouldn't say the two projects' sound is at all similar. Acoustic guitar appears in some places, along with voice samples, bells, and assorted noises, unperpinned by electronic beats. It's calming, but there's just enough menace near the surface that demands a closer listen.

The first thing that struck me about this CD was the odd juxtaposition of the band and album names. "Der Arbeiter" primes you for some sort of harsh, militaristic noise music, perhaps along the lines of Feindflug or Panzer Division. But instead you get "Reflejos del Sol," which sounds like the title of an Enrique Iglesias song. Maybe it's just how German and Spanish sound to American ears, but the harshness of the band's name followed by the soft, flowing album title...well, it's a little funny.

I mean, imagine if Front Line Assembly had released an album titled Oops, I Did It Again. Actually, I heard that was supposed to be the original title for Tactical Neural Implant, but Rhys successfully changed Bill's mind just before the artwork went to press.

Also today:

49:30 Aidan Baker & Matt Borghi, Undercurrents
49:29 Love Spirals Downwards, Idylls
49:29 Monolith, Tribal Globe
49:27 Cawatana & Storm of Capricorn, Cawatana & Storm of Capricorn
49:25 Rajna, Yahili
49:24 Les Jumeaux, Feathercut
49:23 Aux Milieu des Arbres, Aux Milieu des Arbres