It was an adjustment becoming a fan of Cocteau Twins 40 years ago given how outside the mainstream the group was at the time, and how I couldn't understand most of the words being sung. But once I opened up to the possibilities of the music, I opened myself up to other stuff even more outside the norm then. Germany's Xmal Deutschland were German, the songs were in German, and the sound was harsh. But given how so much of the group's early stuff sounded like the first efforts from Siouxsie and the Banshees, it was easy for me to fall in love with this band.
The Complete Peel Sessions captures the radio sets recorded for John Peel and the BBC from 1982 to 1985 by Xmal Deutschland. The 4AD compilation is full of jagged guitar-lines, pounding drums, and fierce vocals. Heard today this stuff is as much goth as it is punk. Fans of Bauhaus, Christian Death, and Danielle Dax can all find something to savor here, even if those listeners are coming in from slightly different angles. Familiar numbers like "Incubus Succubus" and "Vito" roar through the speakers, the sound a brittle fury. Singer Anja Huwe sounds like she's mad at the world on each number. She modulates a bit on things like "Tag für Tag", a rare down-tempo number from this band, but it's the propulsive stuff, like "In Motion" which jogs the memory. I'm sure I'm not the only aging fan who remembers taking a chance on this band because they were on 4AD and being pleasantly surprised at how much the group's sound aligned with my current tastes 40 years ago.
Xmal Deutschland did a certain style very, very well. And while "Autumn", sung in English, reveals this group's progress towards a less intense approach, the rough edges of the majority of tracks on The Complete Peel Sessions by Xmal Deutschland are brutal and exhilirating. Even though these are radio sessions, the numbers here are lively and layered, with as much depth as the original numbers on the group's first two albums (collected by 4AD last year). Even if you don't speak German, the guitar-attack of Manuela Rickers uses a universal language. So much of what you love about post-punk, and goth can be heard in early groups on 4AD like Xmal Deutschland. For that reason, The Complete Peel Sessions is another essential reissue from this seminal imprint.
The Complete Peel Sessions by Xmal Deutschland on 4AD.
[Photo: Kevin Cummins]