An unexpected jump from the extended kosmische jams of Cluster 71 into uncharted territory that signaled their direction for years to come,
Zuckerzeit presented a vision of electronic pop, fusing the duo's haunted melodic sense with crisp, scratchy drum programs that provided a grounded focus to all those synthesizer warbles. Oddly, the ten short tracks have separate composer credits (five each), leading to the assumption that
Roedelius handled more evocative synthesizer lines ("Hollywood," "Rosa") while
Moebius pushed the group into experimental ground ("Rote Riki," "Caramba"). It's undoubtedly one of the most distinctive records in the
Cluster discography, though the simple lack of space rock material makes it a difficult album to recommend from the outset. ~ John Bush