Haus Der Luege

On Haus Der Lüge, Einstürzende Neubauten made the definitive record of their first phase — if not quite the best. They seem to have distilled everything they do well here, with increased self-awareness: the “Prolog” has Bargeld declaiming all the ways in which Neubauten didn’t sell out; “Hirnlego” is built from samples of prior Neubauten recordings. The difference is, here their music soars into the sun. “Schwindel”’s clattering tornado of clang’n’scrape is an unending ascension; “Fiat Lux”’s tripartite structure builds in the aforementioned “Hirnlego” and a recording of a riot, to startling effect; “Der Kuss” has Bargeld chanting and declaiming, both sensuous and deadly, hypnotic and tense, soaring over one of the group’s most assured and regal compositions.