Blumfeld - 'Draußen auf Kaution/Jet Set' (Big Cat)

Moody, mid-90s German indie-rockers Blumfeld made a pretty great album, if I remember it, and then faded into obscurity. At least in my tunnel vision world! I don't speak a word of their language so I have no idea what they are singing about, but 'Draußen auf Kaution' is a dramatic, mid-tempo guitar jam that reminds me a bit of what everyone was trying to do in 1995. There's arpeggiated guitar lines slowly unfolding, slow building vocals and a darkly-inflected instrumental buildup at the end of the song. Hints of Slint's "Washer" for sure, but that's unavoidable. No, it's the grooves of 'Jet Set' on side B -- actually labeled as side AA -- that I've worn out on this record. A fast, energetic thrasher with spoken/shouted lyrics, this is why I got into Blumfeld. There's a resemblance to the Fall, or maybe Moss Icon since they aren't as sloppy or lackadaisical as the Fall -- there's a real spark behind this, a statement of direction that you'd only get with some pissed off Germans. Again, maybe they are just singing about their breakfast or train timetables, but it's enough to have me hopping up and down for the past 15 years.