III
Rich in delicate textures and rough-trundling beats, Moderat\'s third LP sustains their reputation for crafting electronic works with a human touch. This time, Apparat provides a plethora of emotive multi-timbre vocals that reach out from the ether he has dreamed up with fellow Berliners Modeselektor. The mix is hypnotic over the stutter-step of \"Running,\" and made woozy by the glitchy distortions of \"Reminder.\" But “Intruder”—with its melodramatic piano hits, luminous synth chords, and Reichian rhythms—exemplifies the album\'s gauzy air of mystery, with lyrics depicting an alternate world that emerges only in sleep.
Apparat and Modeselektor's third album as Moderat absorbs a dark spectrum of postminimal electronic music—James Blake, Burial, The xx, Four Tet—and reflects it into spare, crystal-clear electronic soul.
On this pensively-paced collaboration, Modeselektor’s beats feel oceanic, while Apparat’s vocals have found a new, deeply personal clarity.
What is pop music? When does the underground risk straying too close to the pop formula? When is it acceptable to do so? These are all questions that