After the lyrical excesses of the previous album from Genesis, this is like a palate-cleanser; minimalist electronica from the German synth group. Where Can and Faust established an ambient sound, Kraftwerk (along with Tangerine Dream) make it entirely electronic, using the medium to create some hypnotic soundscapes.
The track Autobahn itself uses a pulsing beat meant to evoke the repetitive sound of wheels and engine on an autobahn trip, while other elements represent the areas through which the journey pass, changing as we go, as well as the occasional Doppler shift of a passing vehicle. The other lengthy track, Kometenmelodie, is more cosmic and spacey, as befitting a track about the passage of a comet.
The two shorter passages at the end are polar opposites – the dark and largely non-musical sound effects of Mittenacht evoke dark fears, but then comes the peace of the dawn and a morning stroll with some soothing flute on Morgenspaziergang.
I like this kind of stuff, and it’s a great one to have on while concentrating on something else at work – you can largely let your attention wander, but it’s recalled by changing moments in the track. This, for me, probably isn’t the best electronica album, but somebody needed to be the pioneers and I like their minimalism.
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