Pure Freude Singles 1979+1981 collects together the singles and other oddments of Dusseldorf based band S.Y.P.H. whose name was chosen according to founder member Thomas Schwebel because it's a dirty name, they doubled down on that when the other founding member Harry Rag added periods to the bands original name SYPH and started claiming it stood for Saufender Yankee Prugelt Homo (Boozing yankee pummels fag). Not sure of who all the other musicians are, but they may include Holger Cuzkay, Uli Putsch, Uwe Jahnke and Jurgen Walter.
The compilation opens with Industrie-Madchen that's industrial punk over a steady repetitive beat with angry sounding vocal declamations.
Europa is like the lost link between techno and nursery rhymes, disconcerting in odd ways. With Kraftwerk style vocals and lots of weird Henry Cow like noises and straighter ahead drumming than might be expected.
Moderne Romantik does the dance robotic with a new wave shambling edge insanely insistent.
Klammheimlich opens with a spoken word narration and phaser sounds, almost like an air raid siren, taking them into Faust like territory. For a radio broadcast from the edges of reality.
Zirpenknirspel is full of noises heard across short wave radio coming from who knows where, with odd desk bells and synths adding layers of weirdness that collapses into Stahlgren whose oscillations come straight out of the radiophonic workshop school of electronica.
Viel Fiend Viel Ehr a minimalistic soundscape with disquieting sounds married to whatever story is being narrated in German.
Der Bauer Im Parkdeck that has a Pere Ubu goes cartoon soundtrack feel in peculiar ways.
Falsche Freunde isn't a German language cover of Joan Jett sadly, but has an equally catchy riff, that this song about false friends needs, along with some great slide playing towards the end.
Alte Freunde is a song that these days could be taken the wrong way, this has a laid back relaxed feel and Fugs like vocals, on a song that has a strong Arbete Och Fritid influence.
Knudelblues II is short and tasty. Traumraum is almost drum and bass, almost Plastic People Of The Universe, almost poppy, almost totally deadpan vocals, totally European.
Bekentnisse eines Knuppletragers is fast furious noise punk madness. Masolinchen is industrial punk insanity fried at the edges.
Herrlich Anonyms is super seedy Anarcho sparse punk frenzy. Clean City is Monty python style short sharp plea for a clean city.
Hugo Hugh is amphetamine speed thrash with odd Pythonesque vocals.
Mit Das Leben Klar slows things down while sounding even odder, lord knows what drugs this lot were on, this could be the German Derek and Clive.
Wo Ist Der Ausgang where indeed is it, they wanna get outta this place and sound suitable distressed while doing so.
The album closes with Maschine Von Beruf take a bunch of squeaky toys distressed guitars and drums with spoken interjections most peculiar.
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