Kreidler: Eve Future Recall
Wonder

Anyone expecting the post-rock Kreidler of Weekend may be startled by the chamber-music stylings of Eve Future Recall, although those familiar with the Düsseldorf trio's 2002 Eve Future EP won't be taken aback. (The title, incidentally, comes from a late nineteenth-century novel called Eve Future written by Auguste Villiers-de L'isle Adams about Edison, an inventor, who creates an 'electro-human creature' called Hadaly, 'the Eve of tomorrow.') Note also that Kreidler (Thomas Klein, Andreas Reihse, Detlef Weinrich) doesn't borrow from contemporary classical styles but instead draws upon centuries-old romantic and baroque styles for this 'electronic concerto.' Even though the group simulates orchestral instruments using modern technologies, the sounds themselves evidence little trace of their origins. The album's heartfelt music attests to the sincerity of the group's approach, so irony is either absent or so subtly incorporated it's inaudible. By now, one might be tempted to condemn the trio for producing a project of such seeming pretension but in fact the group deflects criticism of that kind by (generally) eschewing bombast.

While it might purport to be classical chamber-music, it's more akin to soundtrack music in search of a film. It's 'classical-lite,' in other words, audience-friendly material much like the kind of music composed by John Williams than Penderecki; “Cervantes,” for example, is tailor-made to accompany footage of an advancing army of soldiers and horses. As a result, the recording sometimes flirts with banality, a case in point the overstated tympani and snare elements in “The Park.” But weak moments are rare on an album that consistently charms with pretty melodies and lush arrangements. “Vive la Vie” opens the album with a lilting interweave of strings, harp plucks, and vibes that's lovely, as is “Schwanentöter.” Reverberant glockenspiels and vibes distinguish “Whom The Bell Tolls,” merely one instance of many that emphasizes Kreidler's predilection for mallet percussion. Judged on its own terms, Eve Future Recall is a lovely collection, even if it bears scant resemblance to the Kreidler of old.

December 2004