So, did the pandemic drive all the homebound weirdos into the welcoming embrace of the synthesizer or something? An unsettlingly large percentage of my reviewables this issue feature synth front and center—“not that there’s anything wrong with that,” as they say in the syndicated reruns. This Berlin quartet—three fräuleins, one mustache—knock out a bevy of sharp synthpunk cuts in the more-or-less traditionalist bass + drums + guitar + synth style (as opposed to the synth + synth + synth + synth style, which has also been represented this issue). The album’s twelve tracks are mostly sung in German with the occasional English phrase strewn in there, a stylistic move of which I heartily approve. There aren’t any legit wig-flippers here, but all the songs are pretty decent, the cover’s cool, and German has enough words that kinda look like their English equivalent that if you follow along on the lyric sheet and maybe punch a few titles into Google Translate, you can kinda get the general gist of things. It reminds me a smidgen of that most recent Midnite Snaxxx album, although that album’s fucking outstanding and this one is merely good so I’m not staking my professional reputation on how well that comparison holds up for you. If nothing else, the album packaging certainly exhibits the most stylish use of insects in recent memory, and sometimes that’s sufficient. BEST SONG: “Taube Liebe.” BEST SONG TITLE: “Tropfsteinhöhlen (Drip Dub),” all day. FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: This album features dead wax inscriptions of “Ocean Lovers” and “Benzin Koks Theme.” –Rev. Nørb (Phantom)