by Antti J. RavelinNeubauten's '90s productions may not have been anything like the old fans might have expected, but Tabula Rasa tries somehow to keep up the tradition, without falling into repeating and instead bringing something new to their music. Tabula Rasa is, for our good, a very diversive album. Even though only songs "Die Interimsliebenden" and "Headcleaner" seem to have any character, every song has a catch that keeps the interest on. The keyword for Tabula Rasa is "ambience." Neubauten hold their aggression long way to the end of the album, and all the power and noise unbends as a 15-minute magnum opus, "Headcleaner." Before that there's 22 minutes of quiet but tight dark ambient. The opener, "Die Interimsliebenden," may be the only relaxed song on the album, and that's why Tabula Rasa may feel like a very pressuring album to listen all way thru. The tracks as single songs are very good indeed, but as a whole they form a very tight -- and maybe too tight -- whole. And Blixa Bargeld's weird lyrics don't ease the pressures. But Tabula Rasa is not a bad album, but just not a masterpiece like Kollaps either. When thinking about the rest of the works this group has done over the '90s, this is a good shot anyway.