CONCRETE CITY

Like a lot of proggers facing the uncertain end of the 1970s the erstwhile Krautrockers of Mythos found a new lease on life in a less complicated musical style. But like many of those same proggers, that sudden burst of energy lasted for only one album, and this wasn't it.

"Concrete City" marked the first time in four tries that the same band had recorded consecutive albums: a smart move by front-man and mainstay Stephan Kaske after the more confident "Strange Guys" in 1977. That album struck a fine balance between creativity and compromise, but this effort sounds tired, like a forced attempt to work through writer's block.

The heavier sound of the previous LP continued here, minus the same enthusiasm. Titles like "Concrete City" and "Neutron Bomb" tried to cop a cynical Post Punk attitude, but the new album failed at Hard Rock in the same way the band in earlier incarnations almost but never quite located the essence of Krautrock. And the attempts at HAWKWIND-like Space Rock (in the title track, and during the smarter instrumental breaks of "Neutron Bomb") were even less inspired, in part because of the somewhat constrained production and mix.

But let's cut the band a little retroactive slack. The big, bad 1980s were within sniffing distance at the time, and for a survivor of the counterculture barricades the aroma couldn't have been very pleasant. Nothing here is truly "Love Beach" bad (or, using another yardstick, "Tormato" awful). But the tepid results should have been a signal to Kaske that he missed an opportunity to quit while he was ahead.