Strategies Against Architecture II cover

Strategies Against Architecture II

Recorded
1984-1990
Released

This two-CD set contains nearly two dozen tracks from the period commonly regarded as Einstürzende Neubauten’s glory years, 1984-1990. It’s no mere best-of, though, as stunning live versions of songs like “Yu-Gung” (from 1985’s Halber Mensch) and “Armenia” (from 1984’s Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.) demonstrate the intense power and haunting beauty the group delivered onstage. Blixa Bargeld’s vocals range from harsh denunciations to desperate, gasping shrieks of existential terror, and the band’s junkyard-Dada arrangements for power drill, amplified shopping cart, and sheets of pummeled steel are sculpted carefully in the studio to maximize their impact.

Phil Freeman

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