I’ll skip the brief history of Superpitcher and Michael Mayer (Teleosteopathy beat me to the punch) and get right down to it: If these singles are any indication, SuperMayer’s album, Save the World, is not going to be for everyone despite the wide swath of sound it attempts to cover. Enthusiasts of loopy, trance-informed techno may have trouble swallowing the arms-akimbo dance rock of “The Art of Letting Go.” And fans of that very tune may find themselves searching for the exit when caught in the vortex that is “Two of Us.” But if you’re ready for some à la carte listening and have any feelings of fandom for SuperMayer’s co-conspirators, read on.
SuperMayer, “Two of Us” [Kompakt] (buy)
Fears that Save the World might be too loose and arty will be calmed by the bulldozing first single. Its thrumming oscillations and squirrelly synth vamps are tempered by tinkling glockenspiel patterns and balls-to-the-wall crescendos; an odd combination to be sure, but mixing puerile tones with rave dynamics makes for a menacing dance floor monster. Perhaps as flattening as their remix of Gui Boratto’s “Like You” while less sticky, “Two of Us” is surprisingly straightforward Kompakt trance which does Jürgen Paape proud. But this is just one platter on the dessert tray that is Save the World.

SuperMayer, “The Art of Letting Go” [Kompakt]
A complete 180 from the above, “The Art of Letting Go” delivers on the press sheet promises of instrumental cornucopias in an unfamiliar way. Somewhere between Holger Czukay and Todd Rundgren, the laid back tune is a stretch for Mayer and Aksel Schaufler. Structurally it’s assembled like any other techno track, with one Schaufler-sung vocal line and a handful of constants (spring-loaded bass guitar lines, rudimentary drum kit hits) and picks up elements as it saunters through it’s five and a half minutes. The bright but decidedly unfunky horn licks spar with Schaufler’s tenuous vocals and I’m not sure the listener is the winner. Perhaps a bit too indulgent for my tastes, the tune’s title seems indicative of how seriously it’s to be taken. Taken together I’m uncertain if I want to hear more of the album or not. Who knows; maybe it will save my world from boredom or push me deeper into the hands of faceless techno producers.