Swiss electro-rockers, Young Gods have been around for 40 years, but this in no way should suggest that they’ve gone soft in their old age. These days, vocalist Franz Treichler looks like the psychopathic Bob from David Lynch’s original Twin Peaks TV series and still exudes a certain malevolence – which is more than reflected in their new album Appear Disappear.
The Young Gods’ influence has been readily acknowledged over the years by the likes of David Bowie, Mike Patton and even U2, to name just a few. Their sound draws from the same sonic seam as industrial metalheads Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, as well as the proto-techno of Front 242, while they have also incorporated a broad range of other musical genres into their dark and sinister sound and have covered quite a spectrum of unexpected artists, from Kurt Weill to Terry Riley and even Gary Glitter (before he was declared pop’s ultimate bogey man), with lyrics sung in either English or French. In fact, their last album was a fine reinterpretation of Riley’s “In C”.
Appear Disappear, however, takes their muscular sample-heavy electronics with live percussion sound back to basic principles to make a very intoxicating record indeed. Tracks like “Systemized” and “Shine That Drone” exude unsettling, primal riffs backed by an industrial thump, while others such as the Francophone “Hey Amour” and “Intertidal” are woozy and claustrophobic with more than a sniff of magnificent 1980s Swedish sleaze rockers, the Leather Nun and Depeche Mode’s at their more transgressive.
Appear Disappear is excellent stuff throughout, with Treichler growling on the title track, “I do my best, sometimes even better”, and this album is consistently in that frame. In fact, it may even prove to be one of the best rock-flavoured discs of 2025. There’s certainly been precious little to put it in the shade so far.
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