Mannequin Germany Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Sam de la Rosa from the Led Er Est band works here with Karen Sharkey from The Coombe for fours tuning wave tracks on Germany's Mannequin. It's de la Rosa's third release and is driven by a perfectly chilly TR-606, its ice cold sounds making for perfectly futuristic electro. The minimal spoken word beats add layers of allure and a dehumanised vibe that makes it all the more occult. 'Who Are You Today?' is a zoned out opener, while 'Slick People' is more creepy and subversive. The artwork is cool, too, and with mixing done by Marcos Cabral, this really is a wining package.

Review: Leroy Se Meurt make a bold statement here with their new long player on the Mannequin label. It finds the Parisian pair keeping the foundational sounds of EBM, post-punk and electro at the core but also explores around the edges in fantastic fashion. The mood here is heavy and abrasive rock textures permeate the tracks next to electric synths and over worked samplers. The tracks feature lyrics sung in Turkish and French and are hard hitting affairs with floor facing, repetitive loop madness next to double-tempo cuts with chaotic guitars amongst much more.

Review: Mannequin really can do no wrong if you're looking for cold wave, synth oddities, EBM and the like. As this LFT outing goes to show. Born in a twisted, semi-industrial place that's packed with percussion, reverberated noises, growling basslines, and a kind of sinister sexual energy (or maybe that's just us?), it's timeless stuff providing your concept of time begins and ends in the modern era. A retro futurist palette with punk smeared across its face.

Nevertheless, variety abounds once you have started to pick things apart. There's the slow, hypnosis of 'Blood Vessel', a track that sounds like acid meeting a rather monotone political speech. Meanwhile, 'Narcissist', featuring the vocal prowess of Rosaceae, could be the product of Blondie spending a night at KitKat Club in the late-1980s. We could go on, but simply put it's a visceral adventure into dark synth pop, and a highly enjoyable experience from start to finish.