The name of the band rather gives away the fact that they’re German. Gruppe Planet is an electronically-inclined instrumental band.
I soon became hypnotised by the calm and dreamy ambience of the opening title track. There’s a kind of post rock ring to it, but all the while it’s as if the clouds are drifting past and we’re floating on them. Six minutes there’s an explosion and we wake to a harsher reality and an almost human grunt before it drifts away. The progression draws inevitable comparison with Gruppe Planet’s compatriots Long Distance Calling. The simplicity is there of a buzzing drone and a delicate guitar tune, such as we hear on “Saros”, which expands and builds up like a cosmic pressure cooker. Herein lies the interest. You do need patience though as no-one could ever accuse this of being fast-moving. There’s subtlety in the ambient sound waves, and although it may not be a high-speed journey, there is nevertheless progress. “Saros” does what it says on the tin and travels to uncertain grounds. I’d have preferred something more defined, to be honest. Dark electro and a solid drum pattern introduce us to the wavy world of “At Night on a Roof”. The track title is sinister, and there is something sinister, edgy and most certainly dark about this. On it floats in its calming way before a couple of minutes of pointless nothing by way of what I presume is an interlude. “Unfold” then takes us to a languid, alien land. A deep synth sound runs underneath it, which adds a kind of mystery, but hypnosis wins out again over a desire to solve the mystery. I guess the heavy section at the end is designed to wake us out of our slumber but the core product is the same, and it’s kind of like the opening track pattern being repeated.
Having faded into nothing, “Bullhead” injects a bit of much-needed life with a rock-orientated beginning. Is that human utterances that I hear? The rhythm dominates and if repetition is a virtue, then it is very virtuous indeed. It is I suppose an electronic take on a rock base, and in spite of its repetitious nature, has enough life and vim about it to score a minor hit. “Yield” takes us back to the dark electronic world of wavy wallpaper – nice enough, but without personality. The final 10 minutes of this 56 minute work are filled with “Mirai”. In common with much of this album, the first part is spent repetitively before a layer of sounds appears behind the insistent pattern. This has more personality than “Yield”, aura even, but four minutes in and very little has happened. Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way by expecting anything to happen. This music for patient people. The post rock style build up results in a gain of tempo and a shift in sound patterns. I’ve resisted saying this so far, but there are elements of Kraftwerk without any of the quirkiness. “Mirai” develops nicely with a short acoustic section before building up to an epic climax. I’m pleased that this album ended on a high note, because although its lack of ambition hinders it at least in my view, it is thoughtfully produced and there is a flow and progression. Accordingly I felt sympathetic towards it.
Gruppe Planet do not lay claim to have created anything experimental or extreme, and are true to their word. This also means that pleasant as this all is, “Travel to Uncertain Grounds” seem to be a lot of time spent not achieving very much and isn’t in any way exciting. Instead, my juices are merely simmering gently.
(6/10 Andrew Doherty)
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