Underrated Silence Bureau B****

Kiel-born Ulrich Schnauss has often had to deflect accusations of repetitive melancholia; you can see what his detractors are getting at, but that doesn't mean they're right. Schnauss has been releasing music for more than 15 years, and it was 2001's Far Away Trains Passing Bythat he became a byword for top-notch, shimmering rhythms. Here, in the company of Mark Peters (from British band Engineers), Schnauss stays true to his love of classic krautrock (Neu, Harmonia, Cluster) and shoegazing acts (My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive) while soaking up Peters's brand of intuitive songwriting. The result (mostly instrumental) might not be the match in heaven it promises, but with tracks as beautifully simplistic as The Messiah Is Falling, Long Distance Call, Ekaterinaand Underrated Silence, it comes pretty close. ulrichschnauss.com

Download tracks: The Messiah Is Falling, Underrated Silence