Thomas Brinkmann - 'Monika/Nicola' (Ernst)

The end is near, but first we gotta trudge through four more techno tracks, named after Monika and Nicola. 'Monika' starts with a full on dance party, but it's the second track that gets back to what I'd actually call minimalism. There's a lot of chirping and high-pitched oscillators zig-zagging back and forth, and I like it. I don't think it's enough to keep my interest though; by the end of 'Nicola' I've tuned out, unable to lock into the relentless grooves. I know Brinkmann is really celebrated but it's still dance music to me; I don't think he fights the impulse for the easy dancefloor hook enough, and that stuff is just kryptonite to my ears. Space is good, and on the best tracks I think he achieves this despite the frantic pace. But 'Nicola' thickens up the mix with resonating bass frequencies and wider brushstrokes; I'm sure this approach has its champions but I'm unfortunately not one of them. We've only got one more named Brinkmann to get through, and at the moment, I'm thinking these have to go on the sell pile. They've been cluttering up Dislocated Underbite Spinal Alphabetical Encourage Templates for far too long, and the parts I'm fond of aren't enough to justify keeping them. Maybe there are one or two sides I like, but these belong together as a set, even though I don't have anything past P.