Alles Ist Gut
It's been said that the pioneering German electronic duo DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) directly influenced the assault of bands such asFront 242. But while it's true that DAF could be unrelentingly stern at times, they could also be unequivocally sexy, sighs and moans intertwined with basic Teutonic beats in orgasmic ecstasy--no wonder singer Gabi Delgado-Lopez and instrumentalist Robert Görl posed drenched in sweat onAlles Ist Gut's cover. This 1981 album, their second, remains a dark jewel of backroom thrusts ("Mein Herz Macht Bum") and dance-floor stomps ("Der Mussolini") feeding on provocation. At a time when electronica is exploding into hundreds of shards, it's nice to remember a band that was able to concentrate its power into such dense, self-contained nuggets.--Elisabeth Vincentelli