Dead Or Alive, You’re Coming With Me
The Robocop Kraus
They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus
(Epitaph)
If you want to get all ethnic, what the angular Gang Of Four revival has needed is some legit time-conscious weirdoes.
That The Robocop Kraus are from Germany makes all the difference in the world. Sure, The Futureheads can start and stop on dimes, but what do the English know about precision? Engineering is not their finer suit, check Range Rover and Jaguar if you need evidence. “In Germany, the trains run on time!” my father would yell as we hustled to leave for family parties, and Robocop Kraus know this. Lucky for us, they know English, too — and just enough.
Sounding vaguely like Devo, Franz Ferdinand, Electric Six, and The Futureheads in a blender, what they bring is kooky foreign guy appeal. Not “Hans & Franz,” but there’s a good chance this guy’s an extraterrestrial and the best way to hide it was to pick a dialect that’s not native to English. “A Man’s Not A Bird” and “There Are Better Lights In Hollywood” are madhouses of vocals, guitars, and drums every which way, settling down just long enough to oblige stereo speakers. Goddamn this is fun.
— Steve Forstneger
Click here to download “All The Good Men.”
