The Man-Machine in Bloomington, MN

The Man-Machine
is closer to the sound and style that would define early
new wave
electro
-
pop
-- less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms. Like its predecessor,
Trans-Europe Express
, there is the feel of a divided concept album, with some songs devoted to science fiction-esque links between humans and technology, often with electronically processed vocals (
"The Robots,"
"Spacelab,"
and the title track); others take the glamour of urbanization as their subject (
"Neon Lights"
and
"Metropolis"
). Plus, there's
"The Model,"
a character sketch that falls under the latter category but takes a more cynical view of the title character's glamorous lifestyle. More
-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of
-- in particular among
Kraftwerk
's oeuvre -- had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic
synth pop
of artists like
Gary Numan
, as well as Britain's later
new romantic
movement. ~ Steve Huey