Warr on Kraftwerk

If you've never visited Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews, you should. The presence of the word "record" indicates that the site is focused toward older releases, although they review newer items also. But the site is truly marked by Wilson & Alroy's high standards.

Very high standards.

Extremely high standards.

I'll give you an example. I personally think it's a travesty that Depeche Mode are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but I think it an even worse tragedy that Kraftwerk has not been so honored. Wilson does not share my views on Kraftwerk, as is evident from his review of Devo's second full-length album, Duty Now for the Future. Note: Wilson hated that particular album.

I don't think the damage Kraftwerk did to our culture has been adequately assessed. Their mid-70s robotic, primitive synth instrumentals made a huge impression on music cognoscenti, essentially undoing all that Stevie Wonder had done to make synthesizers musically expressive. The Kraftwerk influence basically ruins Devo's sophomore effort, which is loaded with repetitive, mechanical keyboard lines...

For a taste of a later review, here's Wilson's review of a Drake album.