Album review: Moderat, II (Monkeytown)

Moderat is the collaborative project of Apparat (Sascha Ring) and Modeselektor (Gemot Bronson and Sebastian Szary), an alliance of Berlin electronicians drawing synergy from their complementary approaches. “Bad Kingdom” is typical, its dubstep buzz, brittle beat and synth pad carrying Apparat's yearning tenor vocal – a sleek, persuasive modern electropop which becomes more chilled in “Let In the Light”. The gassy bass pulse of “Gita” supports Apparat's silky testament to his beloved's “porcelain” quality, but elsewhere he delves into more visceral imagery, particularly over the sparse tonescape of “Damage Done”. The trio's manipulation of euphoric rave dynamics on tracks like “Therapy” brings a fresh approach to a tried-and-tested form.

Download: Bad Kingdom; Let In the Light; Therapy