REVIEWSFaust, ‘Something Dirty’

8

• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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Release Date: February 1, 2011
Label: Bureau B

Talk about confusing: Original members of this German band, which dates back four decades, have split into two groups -- both operating as Faust. Regardless, the quartet on Something Dirty spews a wonderfully nasty barrage of grubby industrial noise and mangled pop that's oddly thrilling. Anchored by Geraldine Swayne's grungy keyboards, "Herbstimmung" is a spooky psychedelic drone, while the wistful "Lost the Signal" belongs in a David Lynch movie. Throughout, the mood swings from tender to violent and back again, marking this Faust as a vital enterprise, not nostalgia fodder.