KMFDM: Attak : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Over time this veteran industrial ensemble has sharpened its electronica edge, but the heart and soul of the music it makes still seethes with organic energy. Each track on Attak is a masterful melange of the digital (samples, loops, computer-enhanced ambiance) and the analog (sizzling guitar lines, vibrant human voices, deep biogenic grooves). Mood swings range from the sinuously sinister vibe of "Urban Monkey Warfare" to the antsy angst of "Attak/Reload." "Save Me" is a sultry, bitter-sweet ballad, complex and melancholy in an insistent (and oh-so-danceable) way; "Yohoho" is a succulent groove where menacing, manly vocals rumble around the bottom end while Lucia Cifarelli provides a sassy, soulfully sweet counterpoint. As with the rest of KMFDM's repertoire, the vital component here is the crafty intelligence that looms behind every song, tempering molten emotions with thoughtful purpose, and ensuring that this "attak" is purely friendly fire.

SANDY MASUO
(MARCH 19, 2002)