Pankow - Stupidity / Remembermeremix / (Do The) Rotkäppchen download free

PANKOW have become quite popular over here, knocking audiences out with their live work, and I doubt they'll be disappointed with this new EP.The 'A' side opens with "Stupidity (Remix)" which is a medium-fast-paced piece of synth/sequencer-driven Techno dance music with lots of tricks and turns & an edge which suggests it would sound much the same live - it has a fresh, wide, vital mix which has totally missed honing off the edges, thus keeping it powerfully vital. It reminds me, like the above record (VOLUME SICK), of early KILLING JOKE with JOE STRUMMER singing over the top (didn't I say something similar about the album?). "Remembermeremix" (remixed by LASSIGUE BENDTHAUS) is a lot more fractured and interesting - built on a constant thudding drum sound and fidgeting sequencer, the remaining space is taken up by a myriad interesting sounds, all combining to make this an atmospheric semi-instrumental - countless percussive FX, deep 'whomp's and many other sounds carry it to a splintering conclusion.Side 'B' opens with "(Do The) Rotkäppchen", opening to something like the "Gangsters" squeal of brakes, it becomes another meaty piece of dance floor music - a medium-fast thing built on a straightforward drum/bass/seq pattern under which all manner of weird sounds can be discerned - electronic birdsong? Manipulated voice? Laughter? All of which appear beneath ALEX SPALCK vocalising in (presumably) his native tongue."Stupidity (Idiot Men)" is another (more atmospheric, thinner) version of the title track. It changes tempo here & there, fades out then thunders back in & generally does strange & fascinating things under the guise of technology. Towards the end it gains a trance-like repeated phrase which sounds robotic & mechanical.The CD version comes with an additional track - "(Do The) Rotkäppchen - A Capella".Every bit as good as we've come to expect from PANKOW. Watch out for the new album "Treue Hunde" & their forthcoming World tourOriginally reviewed for Soft Watch.