For some reason Berlin's Ulrich Schnauss hasn't attained a level of recognition to match the easy likeability of his music. Maybe it's his pokey output-- two full-lengths in five years, and nothing since 2003. Maybe it's his name, which isn't as pleasing to the ear or as catchy as, say, M83. But Schnauss' two very different albums are obvious go-tos for someone looking for melodic IDM working within the framework of pop.
We remember Schnauss last from 2003's A Strangely Isolated Place, a record that found him enveloped in a neo-shoegaze glow, allowing a reverence for Slowdive, first explored on his cover of "Crazy for You" from the Morr tribute album, to run wild. Relative to that widescreen odyssey of layered guitar, Schnauss started more simply. On his 2001 debut album, recently issued in the States for the first time with a bonus disc, he was practicing the sort of bubbly instrumental electro-pop Morr has made famous.
Boards of Canada usually comes up when discussing this sound, but Schnauss' music is really too sunny and upbeat to warrant the comparison. There's no undercurrent of darkness or dread to be found on Far Away Trains Passing By; while the music might be described as "cinematic," it would be a soundtrack to some bittersweet, but nonetheless uplifting, scene. Something about the texture of the synths and ascending chords suggests the dénouement of an 80s teen film, where the geek, while failing to get the girl, walks proudly into the distance with his self-esteem intact.
Though there is some variety in the beats-- the "popcorn" electro percussion on "Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn", the loping groove of "Nobody's Home", whose warmth suggests a debt to Ultramarine-- the record as a whole is unified and consistent, moving steadily from one thoughtful little tune to the next. The bonus disc of B-sides, comp tracks, and the like is very much of a piece, suggesting that Schnauss was during this period working to master a very specific parcel of sonic real estate. He pretty much got there, but as the cover of "Crazy For You" included on the bonus disc makes plain, he had better things in store. For while Far Away Trains Passing By is a nice listen, this music begs for a riskier approach, something with bolder strokes and an infusion of drama that risks cheesiness.
