NETZ – Misgiving Transmitter

Difficult, what else can I say.. Conceptual album with elusive melodies, shapeless vocals and more-than-realistic samples was bouncing off the walls of my mind, evading description worth of a review. But I made it, eventually. It took a lot of patience above all, concentration and devotion.
Trust me, in order to even consider enjoying this exceptional album you’ll need a character of a good scholar. Almost devoid of ‘hits’, “Misgiving Transmitter” is composed of disjointed songs filled with dark messages, darker screams and even darker music. No, this is not gothic. No, Netz-made music is not industrial either. Well, you cannot put it into a category, since you cannot catch its melodies...

To sum up the first part: if you’re addicted to melodies, solid structures and predictable beats, do not continue reading this review, you will waste your time. This band is not for you. Simple suggestion, no disrespect intended whatsoever.

OK fans of Das Ichoid, Wumscutoid, Interlaceoid music, you’re up for a treat!
To really start this essay on “Misgiving Transmitter”, I will say it brought me perverse pleasure – I was constantly trying to connect spotless production with ‘careless’ singing, and, when finally made a link, deliberate intention to sing that way was obvious. And I did not like it. What else got on my nerves? A number of ‘intermezzo’ sample songs – there’s simply too many of them. Yes, they add on to artistic feel of the album, but this project would’ve still worked well without a couple.
If you pass over attention-breaking track order, you’ll encounter an excellent album. This sounds ironic, but it is true: after all, Netz’s ‘werk03’ is an artistic endeavour of great value. If in doubt, visit track ‘Blutrausch’: brutal, simple, but good. Mentioning ‘Unschuld’ is a must, since even Herr Rudy R. would be proud of creating this Wumpscutesque piece. Ten minutes of screams, beats and repeating short theme – it does sound familiar and it does sound great. ‘Lightfighter’ really could have been a super-hit, current shape needs remixing, vocals are ruining subtle under-theme and strange beats need ironing. Hm... Icon Of Coil treatment perhaps? The rest of the songs are not so distinctive in their shape to be named, but as a whole, they give an atmosphere of gloomy feelings with German lyrics, muted bass lines and muffled beats.
It would be too harsh to say “Misgiving Transmitter” left me with mixed feelings. Although I had doubts (confession), on repeated listening thought of good, diverse, complex work prevailed. You need to listen ‘Schnee’ several times to get acquainted with its appeal. Again, do something about those vocal arrangements!

Overall, it could have been ‘Hysteria’ but I didn’t ‘catch’ that singing. Didn’t work for me, ruined excellent ‘Control’ for instance. Too good for ‘Joy’ since track #5 is work of inspiration and inventiveness. Surprising song… liked it immensely. It would not hurt Netz’s artistic image to come to terms with melodies and structures. They would benefit from increased attention their music and lyrics definitely deserve. ‘Addictive’ is an appropriate grade.