MASSIV IN MENSCH - Menschdefekt

Massiv In Mensch produce amazing dancefloor hits. While retro synth is all the madness, MIM delivers the rave sound familiar when acts like LA Style and KLF were the rage on the UK/US rave floor in the very early 90's.

They could also be described as a "left field" EBM act because of the dark, hardcore techno sound they incorporate. The new album is interesting as it brings back the female vox from the first MIM release and re-establishes that electro sound which popularized them. Still, the quest for the beats continues, and "Menschdefekt" is complete dancefloor madness.

It can be graded as a solid release, and for fans of harder techno and aggressive electro-industrial, the new album should more than fulfill. Once again, there are some solid dancefloor killers, but in club-atmosphere it fails in it's hardcore or speedcore tracks; at home listener might get tired of use of repetitive synth lines and melodic loops. Upon further exploration it becomes clear that MIM employs these sounds and loops as a signature, while the overall compositions vary. This is a tactic overused in the EBM genre and hopefully, in the future, it will become standard to have a signature style without relying on duplicate synth lines and melodies.

Where "Die Rein" explored this early hardcore techno sound in it's entirety, "Menschdefekt" offers us more of an electronic collage exploring areas of ambient soundscapes, dark ethereal female vox, male vocoded vox, spoken word, retro samples, and varied tempos ranging from around 120 BPM to speeds of around 170, putting it in the low end of speedcore. At this tempo (over 160) MIM becomes too fast for even the most fit vinyl-clad dark raver. This is moshing or twitching music and sets the DJ up for a patron's possible cardiac arrest (kidding, I think). It's when MIM hits these levels of tempo (hardcore/speedcore) it becomes a bit tiring and as a mixing DJ these BPM's are just to high to move in and out of smoothly. Still, this is great party music, and overall MIM brings us a fresh and intelligent technoid sound unmatched by many of the EBM acts releasing today.

Still, even with all these problems, "Menschdefekt" has some outstanding tracks that further mature this act and place it as a front-runner in the EBM genre. The choice of "Dark Rave" as the dancefloor single seemed obvious, but in the end I would rather play track 13, "Der Mann and der Drehorgel", on my floor (146 BPM) because it begins quickly on the one and delivers less synthy techno while retaining a sense of melody.

Other highpoints include track 6, "Radius 17 M.", which is also a B-side on the DJ single. Falling at a lower BPM (126) this track accentuates the return of the female vocalist (which should appeal to 'flailers' and 'hand-wavers') while keeping a good dancefloor tempo as well. Both tracks 4, "Vokuhila", and 8, "A Gothic on XTC", demonstrate MIM being pretty fun at heart. While "Vokuhlia" is near 160 BPM this could work on the floor simply for it's creative use of samples and and the whimsical melody. "A Gothic on XTC" is literally a musical expression of it's title and is filled again with an ambient melodic backdrop, creative samples, and a mid-tempo dancebeat. Track 12, "Kunsmutter (vertoner Surrealismus)", gives us the most noisey MIM, with a multilayered soundtrack and constantly fluctuating melody, synth lines, and samples.

Finally, the most hilarious track is the finale, track 14, "You're the Greatest Lover". This is a cover from a Netherlands Disco act called Luv released in 1978 who was a 'two hit wonder'. Listening to MIM sing the silliest lyrics ever created with the only really distorted vocals on the album puts such a light hearted topping to the new album that it is obvious that this band does not take themselves too seriously at all!

So, as a whole, "Menschdefekt" is a solid release with plenty of choice tracks for the discriminating EBM ear and dancefloor. Hopefully the future will see a further maturation of this German techno-industrial act, with less reliance on trademark sounds and synth lines, and a expanded exploration of the various types of techno combined with darker electro.