Kraftwerk embrace the atomic age with mixed emotions. surfing on sine waves, scanning the stratosphere for stray radio signals, they plug themselves into a buzzing grid of energy and communication. from the stately eco-angst anthem Radioactivity to the synthetic gregorian chants of Radio Stars and the melancholy machine processional of Ohm Sweet Ohm, a sombre but engrossing monumentalism dominates. With heavily processed vocals in both German and English, Kraftwerk go global with depth and majesty. If factories and power stations are the new cathedrals, they write liturgies for a new industrial epoch.
