The profound German production duo of Thaddeus Herrmann and Christian Kleine have been drawing in a steady stream of fans since their Transalpin EP on City Centre Offices in 1999. Since then the duo have made a handful of remixes and prestigious compilation appearances, in addition to the well-received 2000 release of the Kickboard Girl EP. Moreover, Thaddi has managed to issue close to two dozen excellent electronic releases through his City Centre Offices label, while Christian unleashed a steady flow of excellent solo efforts consisting of numerous remixes, compilation appearances, a small collaboration on Arovane’s heralded Tides album, as well as Christian’s solo works, Beyond Repair and most recently the Valis EP on Morr Music. Needless to say, these boys have been keeping busy the past three years, producing an unblemished flood of quality electronic music.
After much anticipation, the full-length Herrmann & Kleine album finally arrives, fitting enough to be included within the untarnished excellence of the Morr Music catalog. Herrmann and Kleine seem to have a gift for lush melodies, expertly mixed in with infectious hip-hop beats and beautiful, underlying atmospheres. Their trademark song structures tend to construct within the complicated framework of emotion and dance appeal, many times building each song to an elaborate peak, before breaking it down to allow the listener a reflective ponder of what had just unfolded. Examples of this formula can be found throughout Our Noise with luring songs like “Her Tune,” “Still Tired,” and “Headlights.” Lighter, but no less interesting synth pieces such as “Kissing You at 120 bpm,” “Shuttle,” and “Wonder” focus less on predominant beats and instead delve into lovely realms of multiple layers of rich melody and soaring synth work.
Our Noise opens with “Drop,” laying down some subtle guitar strums and a dripping, poppy percussion. A distant melody seeps into the mix before a slapping beat joins in, assisted by addition harmonies. “Blue Flower,” a cover of the Mazzy Star song from She Hangs Brightly, features the female vocalist Ariane Hensel lending her stunning voice to this heavy and inspiring post-rock rendition of the tune. A simple guitar loop flows along with Ariane’s distant vocals until the song suddenly erupts into a wall of electric guitar, crashing cymbals, and infectious hip-hop beats. Along with “Her Tune” and “Still Tired,” “Blue Flower” was a stand out track for me on this release, simply for its powerfulness and diversity from the rest of the album. “Catch a Snowflake” and the outro “Don’t Look Back” leave the listener with a delicate sense of beauty and thoughtfulness, allowing the entire album to sink in, before urging the inevitable pressing of the repeat button. Our Noise is an appropriate first full-length for this extremely talented duo and will undoubtedly be embraced by fans of Ulrich Schnauss, Bola, and Morr Music/City Centre Offices catalog collectors.
