[midlife 150] #128: von südenfed “the rhinohead”

#128 The Rhinohead by Von Südenfed, taken from Tromatic Reflexxions, 2007 [buy from Domino Records]

Von Südenfed is one of those collaborations that makes you think “how did that happen?” – though you’re glad it did. Pairing Mark E. Smith, legendary leader of legendary post-punk act The Fall with Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma of German avant-electronica group Mouse On Mars, the band originally collaborated on a single in 2004 before releasing their debut (and so far only) album in 2007. It was one of the best of that year.

The combination of Smith’s (as ever) genius-madness mumbled shouting with the crunchy, acidic, dirge-filled, techno-rock assembled by St. Werner and Toma shoves most of the electro-punk revival bands (and their pursuit of cooler-than-thou status) into the gutter – then casually spits its disinterest at them.

The Rhinohead stands out as the most radio-friendly track on the album (it was released as a single). Its pounding, fuzz-laden riff and the surreal lyrics – something about rhinos and being “very fascinated” – sung (yes, sung) by Smith require playing very LOUD.

This review is part of close to 94 ‘s [midlife 150] series, which counts down favourite music 1970-2009.