I first encountered Berlin-based band Terranova towards the end of the nineties with their debut album on !K7 ‘Close The Door’, which arrived at the peak of triphop’s heyday and saw them collaborating with the likes of Tricky and Rasco. In the ensuing years their sound has continued to shift a lot, with the constant founding core of members Fetisch and Me being augmented by a constantly changing cast of guest collaborators. While they’ve experimented with rock, pop and punk influences in the past though, 2012’s ‘Hotel Amour’ album saw them signing to Kompakt for a collection that saw them refining their approach towards a more sheeny, ‘main room’ club aesthetic. Three years on, this sixth album ‘Restless’ follows a similar trajectory, offering up ten distinctly 4/4 oriented tracks that stretch out over a total running length of just over 70 minutes. As with Terranova’s preceding albums, it’s also a guest packed affair.
‘Tell Me Why’ opens proceedings with an eight minute wander through dark tech-house atmospheres that calls to mind Underworld more than anything else as the Stereo MCs’ Rob Birch contributes his slightly nasal vocals to a moody backdrop of prowling bass pads and crisp snare shuffles. It’s a suitably impressive curtain-roller for this collection, smoothly handing the baton on to ‘Skin & Bones’, which offers up a more airy and colourful house-centred excursion that sees Lydmor and Bon Homme’s sweetly duetting pop vocals gliding against flamboyant synth stabs and twinkling hi-hats in luxurious style.
‘Twisted Souls’ meanwhile sees the darker shades creeping back in as Cath Coffey’s vocals echo out against a backdrop of throbbing 4/4 kickdrums and machine burbles, her sudden interjection of “turn around, turn around” offering up a knowing reference to her first vocal collaboration with Terranova of the same name, way back in 1999 on their debut album. There’s certainly plenty of sheeny opulence and attention to production on show, but at the same time as a longtime listener I couldn’t help but feel that some of the more awkward shapes that often made Terranova so interesting have been ironed away here, resulting in a collection that occasionally feels functional rather than really memorable.
