Customer Reviews

S.E.T.I.

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During the mid-90s, German two-piece band Individual Totem cruised under the EBM radar, which has always puzzled me. Perhaps they were ahead of their time, or perhaps they were too cerebral; I've heard them described as "thinking man's EBM." IT didn't have any particularly huge hits, and didn't tour extensively, and disappeared from the scene after releasing the bristling glorious monstrosity Mind Sculptures Flesh in 1998, before returning with a vengeance with 2009's Mothfly. However, IT's first major release, S.E.T.I., was set loose on an unsuspecting American audience in 1997 via Pendragon Records. Listening to S.E.T.I. in 2011 is a stark reminder that it has not lost one ounce of its considerable potency.

I've owned S.E.T.I. for years, and it's one of those deeply satisfying discs that I keep returning to. Individual Totem has a way of writing and producing songs that demand one's attention, whether through a sparkling display of sequencing prowess and quirky sampling ("New General Catalogue", which features one of the best electronic rhythm structures I've ever heard, and the "okee-dokee doggy daddy" sample is weird but it works) or a lengthy sprawl that mutates unexpectedly ("Braching Universe/Human Mutilations"). S.E.T.I. features slow-paced anthems ("Wavicels" and "Abductees"), a strange yet riveting ambient track ("Remotely Brained Control"), and two killer versions of the driving, uplifting "Levitation." Add the oddly engaging "Radar Trance", the hypnotic melodies of "Human/Machine Interaction", and the spiraling piano-laced stomper "Implicat Order," and S.E.T.I. doesn't have a single dull moment along its diverse ride through a bizarre deep-space void.

IT has always had a knack for avoiding technical and songwriting cliches, while maintaining just enough darkness to give them an edge without falling into the all-too-familiar trap of overindulgence. Bernd Madl's vocals are lightly processed (if at all), and his unusual delivery - slightly nasal and hoarse - gives IT's sound its finishing touch. So often, vocals can ruin EBM, but IT understands when enough is enough. S.E.T.I's lyrical themes are based on (surprise) exploring the cosmos and alien abduction, but the lyrics are minimal - at times, even poetic - and Madl infuses them with occasional surprising emotion without being melodramatic. IT often delves into the realm of the quirky (ie. the "doggy" sample), which, now that I think about it, might explain why the band may have been shunned by many during the uber-serious 90s scene...

Even in an underground scene such as post-industrial EBM, Individual Totem never seemed to get the recognition they deserved. I think, however, the music speaks for itself. S.E.T.I. is a prime example of what makes IT one of the rare bands that extends beyond the lines of genre. S.E.T.I. is not just a brilliant EBM album, and it's not just an enduring electronic album: it's an unsung classic record, period.