Faust IV

Perhaps the most straightforward work ever released by this notoriously anarchic group, Faust IV is arguably the definitive document of the German underground rock scene of the early \'70s. Though the album lacks the transgressive forays into tape collage and noise that made Faust’s early work so startling, it contains superlative examples of almost every musical style to fall under the Krautrock banner. The breathtaking opening track neatly borrows Neu’s motorik drive, while the ambient organ drone of “Lauft… Heisst…” recalls the dreamy atmospherics of groups like Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh. But these similarities to other German groups never cause Faust IV to sound derivative; instead the album is a brilliantly condensed embodiment of one of the most exciting eras of German music. Sadly, recording sessions for Faust IV were beset by a series of conflicts between Faust, label-head Richard Branson and producer Uwe Nettelbeck that would eventually cause key members to split from the group. *Faust IV* stands as the final production of this seminal band’s most fruitful period.

Coming on the heels of the cut-and-paste sound-collage schizophrenia of The Faust Tapes, Faust IV seems relatively subdued and conventional, though it's still a far cry from what anyone outside the German avant-garde rock scene was doing.