Klangstof - Attack Attack (Single Review)

Potentially my most anticipated release of 2019 was new music from this band..

It's been two years since I discovered the Dutch-Norwegian alternative act, and I've spent much of that time enjoying their excellent, Radiohead-influenced debut album and even more time spent listening to their Everest EP, their most recent output until now and definitely their most interesting work. I found the electronic tendencies and intricacies especially engaging on that EP, and I've been hoping to see them continue pursuing that route since. Come August and they released an admirable cover of Michael Kiwanuka's "Cold Little Heart", which I took as a hopeful signifier that the band was beginning their second album cycle.

"Attack Attack" is not what I expected from Klangstof, at least not as a lead single. It feels somewhat deconstructed structurally, throwing you off balance a couple of times with surprising impacts and breakdowns. It may sound like I'm describing metal here, but I can assure you this new single is a dubstep-infused electronic trip-hop piece that manages to captivate me with it's phenomenal synthlines and explosive yet chilled chorus. I find Koen's vocals haunting in the perfect way over the thin but effective percussion and swelling chords, a real highlight of the song. In older songs, his vocals often reside somewhat lower in the mix, but the crisp production here flatters all the individual elements in the best possible ways, drawing attention to the band's usually subtle fills and playful background synths, providing a much more full sound that I'm totally on board with, especially with the dubstep-like drop right at the end that feels as though the band just let loose for the first time.

Overall this is easily up there as one of their best songs and I'm so enthusiastic to see what will follow on their second album. "Attack Attack" gets a strong 9 out of 10 from me, it's worth your time and could be a great opener to this very underrated band.

Atmosphere: 5/5
Catchiness: 4/5
Instrumentation: 5/5
Lyrics: 4/5
Production: 5/5

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_Title:_"Attack Attack"_

_Artist:_Klangstof_

_Label:_Mind Of A Genius_

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