Harmonia Deluxe

Classic second album from Krautrock's best never-quite-made-it act.
 
If tradition has it that any self-respecting rock combo must endure a "difficult second album" then few can have been as gloriously problematic as Harmonia's Deluxe. Side one is clearly a blueprint for Michael Rother's embryonic solo career with his tightly-structured guitar anthems - gathering storm force intensity via Guru Guru's Mani Neumeier's propulsive drums - firmly taking centre stage while the more usually chaotic Moebius and Roedelius respectfully follow with sympathetic melodic detail or shimmering texture from their keyboards. On side two, the album swings back towards the Cluster axis as Moebius and Roedelius' more unpredictable modus operandi begins to assert itself more strongly - whispering melodies, tacky synth strings, austere drones, ghost-in-the-machine noises. And yet the unpredictable chemistry between form and chaos works an absolute treat throughout this classic - which barely sold a few hundred copies in the band's lifetime but has since been name-checked by the likes of Bowie and Eno as hugely influential on their work.