Laub – Filesharing

Laub, with FILESHARING, gets much chillier, and consequently, better. The glacial cool of "Mofa" suits Greie-Fuchs' vocals to a tee, and the electronics, far from overpowering her, add to the sense of isolation and spaciousness. "Temporaries" is similarly sparse, a subterreanean rumble, while the melody takes up the sonic space on "Wortspur." "Getriebe" has a tinge of jazz to it, with the rat-a-tat lyrics and only a low chord to offset them, until a slow, majestic build starts halfway through. "Fadenseiden," on the other hand, has a slight menace to it, one that isn't abated by the saxophone that wanders its way in. The final track, "Unbeholfen" lets in some sparse breaks but still remains meditative. This is an album you'll want to keep transmitting!

This is one of my favorite albums and I can't really explain why. I have most everything they've both done but this is the only 'laub' that I really listen to. The album has brilliant moments on every track but only a handful of the tunes are great throughout. In general its the very definition of a creeper.

Passing chunks of material to each other via the Internet, Antye Greie-Fuchs and Von Jotka assembled Filesharing each in their respective remote European locations; the result, however, is anything but remote. Absent is any resemblance to Björk productions that earlier Laub records might have contained. Instead, Greie-Fuchs' intimate relationship with Vladislav Delay is the propelling factor here. Far from being just influenced by his work, his hands are all over this. While Delay remains officially unaccredited, it's hard to believe that his advisement is not at play. From the sweeping chords to the handling of the vocals, Delay's far-reaching techniques push this record into the frequently attempted (but rarely accomplished) mix of organic and clinical cohesion. Meanwhile, Antye's vocals (all in German) sit cool and collected within a mix of disjointed beats and cut-up unidentifiables. Delicate and abstract, Filesharing will quietly be one of the best of 2002. --- Jack LV Isles