Voluntary Restraint – “Topsy-Turvy” (Review) – ByteFM

Voluntary Restraint – “Topsy-Turvy” (Bobak)

7.5

In its early days, the venerable Spex gave itself the subtitle “Music of the Moment.” It later became a “popular culture magazine.” But the goal of portraying and shaping the spirit of the times and (popular) cultural discourse remained. Spex went out of business a few years ago due to lack of profitability and demand, but the band Voluntary Self-Control, which is about the same age (founded in Munich in 1980) and has a similar brand portfolio, is still around and has done so for many years of occupation. Now Justin Hofmann, Thomas Meinecke, Michaela Milian, Wilfried Pizzi and Karl Oosterhelt present a new album called “Topsy-Turvy”. 17th in the 43 year history of the band and the band’s first regular since “Akt, Downing a Staircase” from 2012. Once again it became “Music at the Time” and the reason why Spex no longer exists and FSK continues to exist is because they both were the way they were They were: hopelessly old-fashioned postmodernists.

The Parliament of Things meets at twelve and five o’clock

The “Parliament of Things” editorial launches in a cleverly amateurish way, but what is a “Parliament of Things”? The sociologist and philosopher Bruno Latour, who died last year, outlined a new environmental political perspective in 2001 in a book of the same name, taking into account non-human agency, and was sometimes violently ridiculed for it. The FSK also does not seem to take the Parliament of Things seriously: “The Parliament of Things meets at twelve past five.” It’s all too late anyway. And at the end of the song there is still encouraging applause – or is it mockery? In the video, a collage of images produced by the producer meets hand-painted pots, brooms and sofas. So non-humans do human things like walking the streets or visiting the pyramids. The film includes excerpts from the movie “Terminator” or the experimental film “Koyaanisqatsi.” Items are picked up in one place and reinserted in another, a familiar strategy that feels a bit outdated.

Then “Claude Lanzmann (and his brother)” and you ask yourself what comes next: perhaps a concert? No, no, a vague collection of individual biographical data on Claude Lanzmann, clearly taken from informational material found in the German Wikipedia entry. However, the tone is not neutral at all, but expresses sincere admiration for Plantsman, who in his later years had to defend his films against unruly (Israeli) critics right in the movie theater. In the second part of the piece, the increasingly turbulent music dominates the further associative flow of information.

Beat, bass, sparse synth and tinkering

“Show Stirn” then links back to FSK’s early work and reminds us that singles from the quintet would also have done well on progressive children’s music samples, before “A Topsy-Turvy World” and “Home Office” demonstrate that “last but not Last” at least, “Topsy-Turvy” is a very elegant rhythmic disco record, very reminiscent of “X” from 2000, a purely instrumental album that oscillates between rhythmic and light jazz. The riffs on “Topsy-Turvy” follow a pattern: a brief beat by Karl Oosterhelt, which regularly stays that way for an average of six minutes, and Michaela Milian’s bass works in a similar way, plus more sparse synths – which could then be a playground For experiments and jazz playing.

“Amorbach” is a sentimental tribute to Adorno’s Theodor Wiesengrund and his childhood in Amorbach, “the only place on this doubtful planet where I felt at home.” Michaela Milian was clearly in charge here, as memories were evoked by her brilliant EP ‘Music From A Frontier Town’ from 2018. ‘Digital Benin’ was nothing short of brilliant as a musical commentary on the controversy over the repatriation of Benin bronzes. “Monkeys race through the jungle. Who stole the coconut?” Unfortunately, it was a bit annoying.

Knowing that their “music of the moment” depends on context, FSK revisits the original from 1981 on “Kaufhalle Revisited” and turns the industrial piece from that time into a melancholy swan song. The collections of department stores that FSK would have liked to see burned down at the time are now used as cultural institutions and retirement homes. Or it’s empty.

“On the other hand, we decided no to Herty
No hoarding company
No decisive for Karstadt
No conclusive for Kaufhof
No to Woolworths
“No definitive source.”

What?

Pop music with Adorno, Lantzmann, Bronze Boys and Bruno Latour? Sometimes it works well. Sometimes not very good. It’s good that such themes still find a home in FSK’s music. FSK – Very cool band. It also works well in low circulation.

Release date: October 13, 2023
Brand: Bubak