When you think about it in retrospect, the musical marriage of Sascha Ring aka Apparat and German duo Modeselektor (aka Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) came across as such a natural collaboration, that it almost seemed always destined to happen. What’s particularly curious though is that Moderat’s 2009 self-titled debut album took a full seven years to finally appear after some initial teaser EPs, apparently a result of creative disagreements and fundamentally different opinions regarding the way they should work. If anything, Moderat’s debut album saw the partnership drawing out the best elements from both camps, reining in Apparat’s more abstract leanings whilst also adding an extra layer of subtlety to Modeselektor’s often outre pop confections. In the wake of rave reviews and a visually spectacular live tour, three years on this second album, aptly titled II offers up a follow-up, and if anything, it’s a slightly gentler and more subliminal experience than its predecessor.
Indeed, II comes across as a collection far more geared towards late night headphone listening than anything else, with the more obvious club-friendly singles pared away in favour of a more free-flowing, almost hypnotically nocturnal approach. Instrumental tracks such as the crystalline This Time see Moderat building up vast walls of atmospheric synths that practically bleed with melancholy against a stripped-down backing of pulsing woodblock rhythms that hint that the trio have been paying attention to the likes of Burial. Ten minute long epic Milk clearly forms the centrepiece here, taking things off on a gliding tech-house voyage that blends in almost krautrock-tinged murmuring synth atmospheres before suddenly bursting forth into a wall of distorted textures in what’s easily this album’s most propulsive moment, the sense of release at the end being one of the most spectacular offerings to be found here.
Those looking for more familiar pop-centred moments amongst the more free-flowing undergrowth probably won’t be left disappointed here, however. First single Bad Kingdom certainly manages the epic swoon factor as Sascha Ring’s keening indie-song vocal floats atop a backing of fat dubby bass distortion and broken percussive rhythms, before Damage Done offers up a wounded slice of electronic soul worthy of Depeche Mode’s most cinematically wounded efforts. Despite its spectacular geography and cohesive sense of atmospheric immersion though, the lingering sense creeps through of II representing an admittedly impressive holding pattern, rather than the great leap forward I expected from the Moderat partnership, following their brilliant debut album. For the most part though, I find myself recognising that I’m actually just picking on tiny faults here – and they are tiny.
