by Ned Raggett
Plank
again oversees an album from the duo, while the photo on the front of
G枚rl
and
Delgado
in what looks like modified bondage gear maintains the sex theme well enough. Put it all together with song titles like &Sex Unter Wasser& (Sex Underwater) and &Absolute K枚rperkontrolle& (Absolute Body Control) and D.A.F. are tending that much more to the flesh rather than the mind. Things are just a touch less powerful than on
Alles Ist Gut
; opening track &Liebe auf den Ersten Blick& has a bass/melody combination that could almost be early
Depeche Mode
. Most of the time, though, it's only a slight difference by degrees, as pounding monsters like &Ich Will& and the instrumental build of &Absolute K枚rperkontrolle& demonstrate.
G枚rl
's music generally still relies on his forceful percussion and sharp, cutting synth bass in combination, and
Plank
once again makes it sound fantastic. Additional touches surface throughout, and if Gold und Liebe isn't as immediately varied as
Alles
was, the subtler elements do provide variety. There's almost a lounge feeling to the vibey keyboards on &Sex Unter Wasser,& while the rough military drumming on &Muskel& suits the song perfectly. Accordingly, one of the best songs has one of the best fusions -- &Goldenes Spielzeug,& with a soft, chime/keyboard melody over a tough bass/drum beat, singing appearing only every so often during its length.
Delgado
himself, however sex-obsessed he might be this time out, still makes a strong frontman -- certainly, if you don't know German, you can just pretend he's ordering everyone to the dancefloor under pain of death or something similar. Gold closes out on a fantastic note with &Verschwende Deine Jugend,& a full-on destructive beast in the &Der Mussolini& mode, and &Greif Nach den Sternen,& a steady-paced, almost anthemic number with the trademark D.A.F. blend of brusqueness still intact.