Europa

This is a re-release of the Bavarian brass-band-cum-techno outfit's second album, although it's not entirely clear why an album that has only been out for two years needs a re-release. The brass side of the group takes most of its influences from Bavarian and Balkan styles, with a few hints of New Orleans brass, and although in other albums and live the band explore ska punk, reggae and other genres, here they focus more on the poppy side of techno.

Occasionally, their blend of Europop synths and drum machines with brass can produce good individual tracks, such as the stand-out ‘Frankreich’, but throughout most of the album the fusion seems pretty unimaginative and not particularly enjoyable either. At times the music can be literally painful too: don’t listen to the track ‘Schweden’ with headphones, as the heavily panned kick drum would make anyone queasy. Frankly, this is a bit of a bizarre project: a re-release of a recent album that isn’t the group's best. Catch them live instead.