Saroos

See Me Not (Anticon)

By Sarah Grant
Published: November 18th, 2010 | 7:00am

As with most art that originates in Berlin, we don’t have to understand it to accept it as utterly, painfully cool. Enter Saroos: an electronica trio of self-proclaimed musical scientists from of a slew of Germany’s edgiest bands like Contriva (Max Punktezahl), Lali Puna (Christoph Brandner), and Iso68 (Florian Zimmer).

Their sophomore effort See Me Not has all celestial fixings that one might expect from a band whose name sounds like something that the Lorax might grow. “Tyden Divu” and “Outrigger” complement each other: stark lasers build and then fizzle into a lost radio signal, picking up again as it multiplies into an array of lasers woven together by a simple acoustic guitar chord (“Outrigger”). Eventually, these chords swallow themselves as they build into a diaphanous white noise and the album ends.

Aesthetics aside, the track for the club is “Daylight Chant,” as infectious as a La Roux song with ethereal chanting choruses and tinny drum loops. The subsequent “Fog People” begins with high-pitched whistle tones that sound like the intro to a ‘50s sci-fi flick, a recurring motif with faint sounds of door knocks and a hushed woman’s voice. The weirdness diffuses when the drum kit kicks up and the bodies start to bob. If you can’t afford the plane fare to a hot Berlin club, turning off the lights and turning up this album isn’t a bad alternative.

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Saroos MySpace page

Anticon Records