German Army Endless Phonics

Other than echoing the production and musical assemblage of a certain English Industrial band that was around in the ‘70s, little is “known” of GeRmAn ArMy with any certainty, other than its knack for self-produced recordings; experimentations with synthetic rhythms, otherworldly melodies, and heavily modulated vocals. The anonymous duo CG and MM, has an enormous back catalog released on a range of international boutique and cassette imprints, though their new LP, Endless Phonics, for Monofonus Press diverges from the norm in a variety of ways. Conceptually, it continues to uphold the foundations pioneered across their early releases, particular emphasis being placed on the value of doubt and the role of uncertainty, perceptual drift, as well as the inersection of human social dynamics. Even so, Endless Phonics also manages to advance the form of the band’s recordings to new dimensions; the songs, originally recorded over the course of 2012, are the first from the duo not recorded on four track. Able to distance themselves more from how the album was being recorded, allowed a fuller immersion in the music itself. Still, the constant thread here remains the band’s dark timbres, usually doing vocals stream of conscious—a testament to the still pointed focus of the band’s subconsciousness—and macabre subject matter, allusions to a world long gone or never realized. This is uneasy listening.