3/5 stars
Some of the most unique and exciting bands are hard to explain to other people, only because succinctly describing their sound makes it sounds terrible on paper. For a band that combines elements of surf-pop, krautrock and horror punk, La Femme sure know how to do it with flair.
Psycho Tropical Berlin combines all these elements in different ways. Opening track ‘Antitaxi’ is a perfect example of this, starting out as a synth-punk song, featuring driving rhythms and bass-synth sounds, before stopping and letting a classic surf riff come through, changing the mood completely. The song then goes through call-and-response male and female vocals, a section made up of car horns, and it all ends in a (literal) car crash.
The songs are all in French, which means there isn’t much to connect with lyrically, but the synth-driven music is so hypnotic it’s hard not to be drawn in. Multiple female vocals are heard throughout the album (and also a few male ones), but not one voice stays dominant. Just like the music, the voices are constantly changing and evolving to create something new.
Psycho Tropic Berlin is as left-field and eccentric as the title suggests. But it’s still a fun, energetic and engaging listen.
