After the release of 2012's
Wildlife,
Gudrun Gut spent a few years pursuing relatively esoteric projects that included remixes of folk songs from around the world and a spoken-word collaboration with
Myra Davies based on Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. On her third solo album, she explores darker, more direct territory:
Moment's stark atmospheres and penetrating synths evoke the coldwave and early industrial music of the '80s -- when she played with Mania D,
Einstürzende Neubauten, and
Malaria! -- as well as trends in late-2010s electronic music. While it's a far cry from the lush washes of
I Put a Record On or
Wildlife's crisp, pointillistic details,
Moment reflects
Gut's artful restraint even at its most propulsive. "Startup Loch" and "Musik" are some of her most kinetic tracks since her Ocean Club days, even though they avoid obvious peaks and valleys.
Moment's minimalist approach puts the focus on
Gut's vocals, which are more compelling than ever. She's almost too commanding to be seductive on the stomping standout "Lover," and finds new layers of meaning on the album's pair of covers. Much like
I Put a Record On's powerful reworking of
Smog's "Rock Bottom Riser,"
Gut uses her deadpan delivery to add some dry feminist wit to "Baby I Can Drive My Car," which chops the
Beatles classic to its refrain and puts her in the driver's seat. On her version of
David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging," she sounds halfway between withering and wistful when she sings "Nothing stands in your way when you're a boy."
Moment becomes more experimental as it unfolds: "Glieder," one of the album's loveliest tracks, and "Biste Schon Weg," a spiky evocation of loss, are as abstract as anything on
Gut's previous albums. These tracks, along with the many instrumental interludes, give the album a fragmented feel that captures the ever-changing nature of existence and underscores the complexity of
Gut's music. Equally blunt and nuanced,
Moment may be her most complete artistic statement yet. ~ Heather Phares