Sometimes, I feel old. Not that I’m on a diet of Metamucil and suffering from arthritic joints (yet), but if you are passionate about music, you often gauge your age not by the increasing amount of gray hairs but by the scratches on the records you’ve been playing for years. German trio To Rococo Rot were part of the first wave of electronic post-rock I started to discover over a decade ago, an extension from the impact and introduction of similar stuff like Tortoise and Stereolab. But they are Germans, you see, and there was a Teutonic sterility in their music that lent additional angularity that made it well suited for electronics. Sort of like an evolution of Can or Neu!. I liked the sound from the first listen.
Taken From Vinyl, their newest release, is a compilation of vinyl-only rarities released over the past ten years. Not only is it their most listenable full-length album, it establishes them as a more successful singles-oriented group. The alternate take on the legendary “Mit Dir in Der Gegend” is a new approach to a classic piece of instrumental post-rock. And “Schon Sehr Viel Telefoniert” provides a new appreciation for the band’s subtle, studied electronic dub sound. But I decided to post “Telema” not only because it’s one of the band’s most poppy and accessible tunes, but rather because it has a young, optimistic feel. And when you’re feeling a little bit older, you welcome that kind of transient escape.
RIYL: Kreidler, Mouse on Mars, Salvatore, Deadbeat, Tarwater, F.S. Blumm, Xela, Mapstation
BUY: Taken From Vinyl can be purchased from Boomkat
VIDEO: Check out the Autechre-esque animated video for “Telema.”
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