Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen

Die Kleinen und die Bösen is the second album by Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft originally released in 1980. It was the first album ever released on Mute Records. Side A and the first track of side B are studio recordings produced by Conny Plank. The beats are sometimes hollow and always ominous, treated with studio touches to make them even more so, while the squalling, clipped guitar sounds often make nails-on-chalkboards sound sweet in comparison. Delgado's husky vocals and Gorl's spare-but-every-hit-counts drumming on Osten Währt Am Längsten are particularly strong, while the electronic rhythms of Co Co Pino (Delgado's vocal trills are a scream) and all-out slam of Nacht Arbeit can't be resisted. The live side, recorded at London's Electric Ballroom, is even more all-out most of the time, starting with the complete noise fest Gewalt, and then shifting into a series of short, brusque tracks. Delgado pulls off some blood-curdling screams (and Gorl some fairly nutty harmonies as well - check the opening to Das Ist Liebe) over the din. The musicians themselves sound like they decided to borrow Wire's sense of quick songs while cranking the amps to ten; the resultant combination of feedback crunch and electronic brutality is, at times, awesome to behold.