Drawing inspiration from sick and sensational headlines is nothing new in underground rock: In his influential mid-'80s group Big Black, Steve Albini delivered provocative ditties about a child sex ring in rural Minnesota ... more »and kids who were hooked on torching things with kerosene. But with his first release outside the Auteurs, Luke Haines tries to push things even farther. He takes the name of a notorious early '70s German terrorist group; uses the members' mug shots as album art, and crafts a conceptual effort based on the inner musings of sinister souls ranging from the sadistic rebels in Mogadishu to the legendary hit man Carlos "the Jackal" Ramirez. I know what you're thinking: "Yawn. If I want shock rock, I'll listen to Marilyn Manson." But like Nick Cave's Murder Ballads, Baader Meinhof succeeds because Haines is a very literate pervert. "Christ was an extremist/With a kamikaze soul/Happy birthday, Anna/You're 29 years old," he sings in "Mogadishu," effectively capturing the mix of political fervor and messianic delusion that can cause a normal middle-class kid to start playing with Uzis and plastic explosives. Haines may be a creep, but he can certainly turn a phrase. What's more, the music matches the lyrical sophistication. Two drummers create a loose, clattering foundation of herky-jerk percussion; a violinist saws away in an understated, melancholic way, and the moody minor-key melodies sound as if they've been sampled from a futuristic funeral parlor. Through it all wafts Haines' surprisingly chipper and tuneful vocals, and they somehow turn these unlikely ingredients into strong pop hooks. You'll never have more fun singing along with a more despicable group of people. --Jim Derogatis« less
Drawing inspiration from sick and sensational headlines is nothing new in underground rock: In his influential mid-'80s group Big Black, Steve Albini delivered provocative ditties about a child sex ring in rural Minnesota and kids who were hooked on torching things with kerosene. But with his first release outside the Auteurs, Luke Haines tries to push things even farther. He takes the name of a notorious early '70s German terrorist group; uses the members' mug shots as album art, and crafts a conceptual effort based on the inner musings of sinister souls ranging from the sadistic rebels in Mogadishu to the legendary hit man Carlos "the Jackal" Ramirez. I know what you're thinking: "Yawn. If I want shock rock, I'll listen to Marilyn Manson." But like Nick Cave's Murder Ballads, Baader Meinhof succeeds because Haines is a very literate pervert. "Christ was an extremist/With a kamikaze soul/Happy birthday, Anna/You're 29 years old," he sings in "Mogadishu," effectively capturing the mix of political fervor and messianic delusion that can cause a normal middle-class kid to start playing with Uzis and plastic explosives. Haines may be a creep, but he can certainly turn a phrase. What's more, the music matches the lyrical sophistication. Two drummers create a loose, clattering foundation of herky-jerk percussion; a violinist saws away in an understated, melancholic way, and the moody minor-key melodies sound as if they've been sampled from a futuristic funeral parlor. Through it all wafts Haines' surprisingly chipper and tuneful vocals, and they somehow turn these unlikely ingredients into strong pop hooks. You'll never have more fun singing along with a more despicable group of people. --Jim Derogatis
CD Reviews
Better than recent material by The Auteurs
08/11/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally, singer/songwriter Luke Haines has found a good reason to sound angry. I never beleived he was as p****d as he pretended to be on The Auteurs 3rd album, After Murder Park, especially considering how lighthearted and whimsical those first two Auteurs albums were. With Baader Meinhoff, however, skilled songwriter Haines has some concrete subject matter to sink his teeth into. The songs, roughly based on that infamous German terrorist organization, are downright creepy. The use of traditional Middle-Eastern instrumentation combined with electric guitar, funky keyboards, and raspy vocals make this a wonderfully disturbing rock album."
Review Correction
08/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Although the intent of the Amazon reviewer is in the right place, his lyrical analysis is a bit off. "Happy Birthday Anna, you're 29 years old" is not a reference to a delusinal terrorist, but the actual inscription on the cake of a flight attendant during the notorious Mogadishu hi-jacking."
Best album of the last seven years
Mofessor | Reno, NV | 08/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the my album of the year when it came out in '97. Now, seven years later, it's equally as impressive. In fact, it might just be the best album of the last seven years. It's both sinister and seductive, and that tension makes it utterly listenable."
Electro-funk about 70s terrorism - nice!
alexliamw | Oxford | 07/17/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although Luke Haines got a name for himself with his albums with the Auteurs, this record is totally distinct in its sound. While containing Haines' usual malevolence, here it is surrounded by wailing shots of noise, clattering percussion, menacing strings and funked-up bass, combined with buzzing electro synths, all nevertheless very sparse, making the sudden interjections of instruments even more invasive. Although the album milks pretty much the same sound all the way through, it's such an inventive and unique one that this works. Treading the line with his lyrics about terrorism between mocking and almost condoning, it's Haines at his most provocative.
Every track is consistent, with strong melodies and lyrics, but the album's highlight is probably 'There's Gonna Be An Accident', which is the closest the album gets to an upbeat, accessible track, with its groove-based sound and menacing lyrics ('driving around on vodka and aspirin/you're gonna wake up in casualty'). Also excellent are both versions of the title track: the first angular and disjointed, the second more rhythmic and acoustic; the brief but incendiary 'Burn Warehouse Burn', and the interesting 'Back On The Farm', which shifts finds a strange wistfulness in its aching chord progression without losing any of the album's trademark intensity. The lyrical references are all incredibly obscure, but you have to hand it to Haines: it's pretty clever, as total provocatism goes."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1