Alles Wie Gross

***The debut album from this Munich chamber rock quartet led by MICHAEL HEILRATH (of COUCH and BLOND) will enrapture fans of the rock—classical hybrid. On this recording, Heilrath is joined by MARKUS ACHER (of NOTWIST and TIED & TICKLED TRIO), MATHIS MAYR, MATHIAS LÖHLEIN and STEPHAN RICHTER, who employ violin, clarinet, cello, and piano, along with electric guitar, bass and drums in Heilrath's original compositions, originally written as a soundtrack to SVEN GADE's silent film Hamlet (1920). Vertonung displays in no small measure Heilrath's passion for fractured beats and tragic melodies. It's the rhythm section versus the strings, generating eternal loops, getting together and then splitting up again. Minimal breaks in the continuity of the music appear after several times listening. The tracks follow a very long melodic arch with martial, ever-grooving beats. Upcoming CD version to be released by Communion August 2000. Godspeed.