A stylised, sharp, mid-century album cover will often precede a dry, synth-pop experience—it’s the go-to aesthetic for the scene. However, Grotto Terrazza has the eccentricity to angle away from formula and towards his own voice. Kalte Köstlichkeiten is tight, engaging, and sincerely bizarre. There are so many words to call it: drum machine punk, chipmunk hyper-pop, cold-wave, Neubatenesque art-wave. It’s like you’ve been given a flyer to a party in Berlin’s underground by a wandering goth and her beat poet boyfriend. Throughout, there’s a detached starkness that is boldly heated up by warm synths and upbeat motions. Fun.
A favourite: ‘Krank in Der City’
23/30
‘Kalte Köstlichkeiten’ is out now via Maple Death Records.
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