SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KMFDM – LET GO

KMFDM
LET GO
METROPOLIS RECORDS

KMFDM is at it again, with their 23^rd studio album, Let Go, perhaps appropriately named as they have let go of their signature sound for more diversity throughout. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that through my first listen, however while listening to it multiple times, it quickly grew on me.

Though more diverse than their previous work, it’s not a bad thing.  “Let Go” is the first single off the album and provides us with their signature heavy guitar blended with their pulsating electronic music and Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko’s lyrical delivery.  Throw in a little dance and techno into the mix and you’ve got a catchy song you can’t help but turn up. It is a great pick for their first single. This song will get the crowd moving during their tour in support of the album.

“Next Move” has a lot going on with its robotic voice intro and although mainly slow and techno driven, you’ll get a hip hop verse delivered by MC Ocelot.

“Airhead” is slow, with Lucia Cifarelli delivering the nostalgia heavy lyrics in a storytelling fashion.  “Born the year of the chia pet/Blondes were in but I’m brunette.”

I found the track “Erlkonig” especially interesting. It’s a musical delivery of a German poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from the late 1700s, about a child dying at the hands of a supernatural being, an “elf king” or “king of the fairies”.  The lyrics are completely in German and even though I don’t understand a single word, the delivery is haunting and intense.

“Totem E. Eggs” is an excellent showcase of Andee Blacksugar’s guitar, Andy Selways’ drums, and Konietzko’s vocals. This upbeat track is my favorite song off the album. If Cifarelli had done any vocals on this song, I’d use it as a good introduction song to someone who may have never heard of the band before. Honestly, who hasn’t heard of KMFDM by now? They did, after all, become a household name in the 90s.

There’s 80s synth, riot girl vibes, and some symphonic elements sprinkled throughout this album. After 40 years of delivering industrial music to the masses, KMFDM continues to deliver politically infused music in a way that refuses to go stale.  To keep that same signature sound yet not hesitate to infuse multiple genres will keep KMFDM relevant for the unforeseeable future.

If you can let go of the expectation that this album will be nothing but “Juke Joint Jezebel”-like songs, you’ll appreciate the diversity, production quality, and pure talent each member contributes to the industrial legend known as KMFDM.  You owe it to yourself to give it a listen.

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