Album of the Day

Faust IV, by Faust (1974): I picked up this album on a whim because (a) I vaguely knew the name as being part of the German Krautrock scene and (b) I figured I should explore that scene a little bit. Heck, the first track is even called "Krautrock"! Ironically, this album came after the band decamped from Germany for the UK on the fledgling Virgin label. From what I've read, some early fans were disappointed that the sound streamlined a bit and moved away from some of the tape cut-and-paste style of earlier albums. Not knowing those, I can't really say, but I do like what's going on here, particularly the longer tracks that engage in some nifty wall-of-sound building. Some of the others sound more like early Zappa/MoI-style skewed pop tunes. It's an odd mix, but it sort of works.