Tarwater

Spider Smile

(Morr)

Record Review by Alexis Roberts

Tarwater is the musical equivalent of what we visualize modernism to be. They don’t overindulge in any of that “post-modern” crap in all of its frivolity. Instead, they give us clean sounds from electronic instruments with a monotone and dreamy Interpol-esque voice complimenting the song structure.

The duo of Bernd Jestram and Ronald Lippok are natives to the lovely city of Berlin, yet they seem to create songs about American culture, or shall we say American culture the way it is seen through their eyes. Songs like the opening track “Shirley Temple,” or “When Love Was the Law in Los Angeles” are examples of this theme. They don’t discourage American life or put it down; they merely reference and comment on it.

Their use of bizarre instruments and tangled-up masses of sound and noise create a musically abstract album, which is actually (and surprisingly) undeniably refreshing. When we think German music, many think one of two things:  1) the classic ‘80s tune by Nena--you know, the one about the 99 luftballons; or 2) industrial metal bands like Rammstein. But if you recall an Saturday Night Live character named Dieter (Mike Myers) who emerged in the 1980s as a German talk show host of Sprockets, then perhaps that will give you a better idea of what Tarwater's music is like. It’s like super artsy German people dancing spastically in black unitards.