Lali Puna - Left Handed

Holy crap, Marcus Acher must be one of the busiest musicians ever these days. When I talked to him a couple months ago when he was touring with The Notwist in support of Neon Golden, he also mentioned that he was at work on the new Lali Puna full-length and that the Tied And Tickled Trio had recently finished up another album. Only weeks after I spoke to him, Lali Puna is dropping this 3-song taster, and it's clear that Acher's contributions are starting to blur between the different groups that he's in.

That's not to say it's a bad thing, but given the past sound of Lali Puna, "Left Handed" is just a touch more aggressive. After opening with a speedy arpeggio and some nice guitarwork, Valerie Trebeljahr sings in her usual somewhat-detached spoken-word style before the choruses break into overdrive, piling on guitars and electronic effects that recall a bit of the earlier, louder work by The Notwist (think Shrink or previous). It's easily the most thick sound that the group has ever put forth, and it's as strong as anything they've done.

Even though that track is quite good, it's actually the second track on the short released ("Left Handed Dub") that takes the cake for best track. Although Trebeljahr's vocals are nearly completely stripped, the track slogs through some seriously juicy, sluiced beats and gives the EP something completely different (which is good such a short release). "Together In Electric Dreams" is an reworking of a Giorgio Moroder track that the group did in 1999 and just pulled out of the vault, yet easily sounds as recent as Scary World Theory. When all is said and done, less than 13 minutes have passed on the EP, and like any good mini-release it has a good amount of variety and whets your appetite for more without actually giving it to you.

Rating: 7.5

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