X-Mal Deutschland – Tocsin
It’s been nearly se7en years since I first posted this album. It had been available in FLAC for almost 6 years along with a rip of the Incubus Succubus II single. If you want those rips…
Xmal Deutschland's second
full-length album is a creative high point, a Teutonic marriage of Siouxsie
& the Banshees, inviting Goth-pop and the majestic sonic spaces of the
Cocteau Twins. Less off puttingly bleak than the quartet's earlier album, but
without the unfortunate candy coating of the albums that followed, these 11
songs are precariously balanced between neo-psychedelic pop in the traditional
4AD style -- the opening "Mondlicht" would not sound out of place on
a This Mortal Coil album -- and the more aggressive, artsy sound of their first
EPs. The formula is clearly winning; "Incubus Succubus II," a much
glossier remake of the song that first garnered attention for the group in the
underground clubs, features a less tortured (but still German-language) vocal
from Anja Huwe over a smooth, throbbing pulse that trades in the spiky scrappiness
of the original for a clean, but not antiseptic thrust. The clash of styles
actually works quite well, giving Tocsin a palpable creative tension that adds
a frisson of intensity to what might otherwise be just another collection of
Goth-pop tunes.
Guess we both had the X Mal vibe going. Thanks.
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