The latest album from Berlin supergroup Moderat is likely its most accessible, too. As lead single “Reminder” suggests, and the LP’s remainder proves, Sacha Ring (a.k.a. Apparat) leads the pack. His voice is a smooth and evocative instrument well-suited to the busy percussion and sleek electronics that glow beneath him. “Burning bridges light my way,” he sings on “Reminder,” while his collaborators in Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert, Sebastian Szary) conjure skittering shakers and a thumping snare, streaks of cinematic synthesizers and a dance-floor pulse.
Indeed, III takes the band farther from its pure dance roots and tilts toward sheer pop, but the propulsive rhythms and expressive ambience fill a daring middle ground, evoking shades of Chromatics’ film-score disco and Burial’s dubstep noir. But with Ring’s voice taking the lead more than ever, Moderat’s pop ambitions are clear. And mostly fulfilled.
—Bryan C. Reed
