For the abbreviated history types, it was only when the Berlin Wall came down that Germany's trance scene was born. As the country went from mechanical depression to Ecstasy-fueled anthems, there were some that respected this new revitalization, but still found its glow stick-obsessed cries for "tunes!" a bit lacking.
Terranova fit into this iconoclastic hole. Instead of embracing the waving arms of their comrades, they sought to re-balance this shift by first releasing their Mean Streets-inspired installment in the DJ Kicks series and then following it up with a debut album full of even more aberrant intoxication and escapist hip-hop. Horizontal listening is the real name of this band's tune. Encompassing a mix from dark intonations and engine squeals ("Plastic Stress") to
Tricky-inspired numbness ("Bombing Bastards"),
Close the Door creates an alternate German reality where E had little impact on the revolution and instead desolate trip-hop tumbled down the Wall with just one cold stare. There aren't many moments of derivative excess, either -- "X-Files" is unintentionally cartoony and "Never" might sound like a beaten up
Depeche Mode -- as these faults are mild. Everything else adds up to an atmospheric world of downtempo hip-hop that surprisingly rivals just about anything coming from a gang out of New York. Indeed, as far as musical abnormalities go,
Terranova is a band that already seems fully and completely in control. ~ Dean Carlson