[engl] Robocop Kraus are back! Incredibly, “Smile” is the first new Robo album in fifteen years. Produced by Jan Philipp Janzen (Die Sterne, von Spar etc.), it sounds very much like ... no ... it sounds exactly like Robocop Kraus! Can we agree, once and for all, that the band often cited as Germany’s answer to “The Make Up / Franz Ferdinand / Talking Heads / The Rapture / Devo” have their own inimitable sound? Which is no small achievement. Come to think of it, how did we achieve the feat of lasting so long without Robocop Kraus? And another thing: how did the band manage to come up with the best album in their history, some 25 years after the debut performance in a Hersbruck youth centre? An album that leaves the anaemic, success-obsessed indie scene in its wake and one that we can already say will be among the most invigorating releases of the year, even though 2023 has only just begun. “Smile“ is an aptly chosen title. The Robos gallop fiercely and fearlessly through an array of musical styles and themes. No false modesty, no malice, embracing the spirit of “Innocent Fun”. Is that doing them a disservice? Not in the slightest, in an age of meticulously plotted musical paths (and life plans), such naive exuberance and inventiveness are more than just charming, they are positively subversive. “Smile” fizzes with impetuous energy and shines with the serenity of a band who have played over 800 gigs all over the world and yet play every single song as if their lives depended on it. “What’s sizzling in those pots, strange kitchen aromas” asks the opening track “Young Man”, fuelled by drums and bongos. Then comes the “Innocent Fun” we alluded to, a touching coming of age story, flaunting a euphoric power pop shiny suit. The first single “On Repeat” floats on dreamy synthesizer waves before drifting into the Kraut-disco. “World/Inferno” is dedicated to the group of the same name, with whom the Robos toured Europe and the USA in the 2000s. The New York band’s vocalist died last year. “Under control” is a new wave banger that sets the emotional state of too much sentiment to music. A state which is swiftly reined in on the next track, thanks to the great rationalist Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Another highlight is the pop ballad “Cradle of Filth” which recounts an episode with the eponymous metal band on the night train to Saint Petersburg. There are flashes everywhere of that innate, idiosyncratic, unmistakeable Robocop Kraus sense of humour, never ironic, never detached. As those (and there are many) who have attended a Robocop Kraus gig or acquired one of their records will know, this band is on our side, they mean well with the world. On “Smile”, Robocop Kraus have succeeded in eluding the downward spiral that would see them end as a tiresome cult band or, perish the thought, a dusty legend. Yes indeed, they’ve charmed their way out of that trap. All this time, they’ve been hidden away, keeping themselves fresh like a deep-frozen gateau, waiting to be savoured when the time is right.