GERMAN OAK [AKA: DOWN IN THE BUNKER]

It has been a while since i have been so excited and enthusiastic about music new to me as this debut, self-titled album by krautrock obscurity German Oak, which i heard for the first time recently. Recorded in 1972, this album was overlooked and not really promoted at the time, and that is a shame, as the music therein is of a high quality and uniqueness. Of course, the band reminds you in some ways of others of that time and place, but there is an originality in the way the musicians put everything together with the result that their sound is mainly their own way, and not really what could be called derivative.

The group recorded this in an old Dusseldorf WW2 bunker, with the result being a kind of eerie atmosphere pervading the recording-but German Oak's inimitable "eeriness" is never a turn off, quite the opposite-this atmosphere helps to stamp their unique way upon the listener, and is fascinating. I have never really heard anything quite like it. The record is completely instrumental, and doesn't need any vocals, as the musicians maintain your interest all the way through with their interesting interplay. That goes for the extra three tracks which some pressings have included, recorded around the same time, but a bit more up tempo, though still fitting in with the album itself.

The three extra tracks are longer than the short album pieces, and shorter than the long album tracks, which is kind of nice. References to the Nazis and WW2 are all over the place on this record, in the song titles, even small excerpts from Hitler speeches! But this band are not just a run of the mill throwback, far from it. Too unique, and too hip a sound!

German Oak should be known and talked about far more than they are-i give their debut five stars.