Reactions to the new material, which has been played in Copenhagen and Århus the past two weekends, have been mixed, as is always the case when a band etches a new route - some will undoubtedly and unavoidably turn themselves against the new stuff, arguing not to change a winning team etcetera.
Truth is, Spleen United already turned a major corner when they developed from the slow-moving, Jean-Michel Jarre-inspired escapades of Godspeed Into The Mainstream into the more straight forward, club-oriented Neanderthal, although there are overlaps on both, such as 'In Peak Fitness Condition' and 'Spleen United' on the first one, and 'Heat' and 'Under The Sun' on the last.
To be frank, I didn't mind the new stuff. Especially the latter part of the new material was very interesting, and I also think it's really pretty limited how much of this will actually get on the third record, which the band announced to be out in "a year". They also said, that much of the stuff was made specifically for this occasion (probably in conjunction with their show in Copenhagen last week as well though). It was a bit too machine-like at times, as my friend Maria summed it up quite precisely at one point during the concert, stating that it could just as well have been The Chemical Brothers who had snuck on stage, but still I do think the third album will in some way have stylistic connection to Neanderthal as well as to the harder techno-house the band exhibited bits of yesterday.
Other than that, the band was intense and party-starting as always, and cleverly finished off with 'Dominator', 'Spleen United' and 'Suburbia', although they could have worked the show even more powerfully by not introducing these tunes as obviously as they did. The crowd was raving about, and really Train as a venue was perhaps a bit small. There was a lot of pushing and shoving - not the dancing way, but more the territorial one.
This viddy from Berlin showcases a bit of the new style!
