Despite the fact that this album is billed as a record that celebrates uncertainty, it doesn't sound in any way hesitant or speculative.
The Berlin trio of Stefan Schneider and brothers Robert and Ronald Lippok have been around for around 15 years now and their latest work has the kind of Teutonic precision of progress through technology that you would expect from the seasoned post-rockers.
Probably, what they mean by 'uncertainty' is the 'go with the flow' recording process that is less about creating clean complexity but aims more towards what they evocatively describe as an "elegant abrasion".
They opt in the main for a live feel with only a 32 second long glitch fragment (No Way To Prepare) and the extended closing tune (Fridays) suggesting a more studio bound quality.
In the main, the crucial factor in the feel of this record lies in the fact that it was largely recorded in Faust's studio in the idyllic country setting of Scheer, Southern Germany. The music reflects a continuing fascination with the kosmiche Krautrock tradition but is also overtly geared towards accessibility and immediacy.
Nine of the ten tracks are under 4 minutes long and the foregrounding of Schneider's bass line helps maintain the dynamic metronomic pulse at the heart of the record. On 'Working Against Time', this bass is reminiscent of the dub influenced lines of Jah Wobble.
The palindromic name of the band is particularly appropriate given the looping, circular dimension of their sound, heard to best effect on standout tracks like Horses and Bells.
The main exception to the insistent forward momentum of the beats is the abstract textures of the ten minute plus closing track, Fridays, which has a looser, more organic feel.
The mood and structure of this piece sounds a little incongruous in relation to the preceding tracks but is welcome in that it shows another side to the band's sound. It may not be a tune that would work well in concert, but on disc it provides a nice dreamy, reflective way to close this fine album.
