Timo Reuber is one of the lesser known artists in the prestigious roster of the Staubgold label, but that doesn?t mean his music doesn?t keep up with the high standard of that label. With his group Klangwart (together with Staubgold?s own Markus Detmer), he had three releases on the pre-Staubgold label Klangstelle. And ?S?dpol? is already Reuber?s fourth album on Staubgold. At the same time, it?s his most accomplished effort.

Reuber has always been one of the most Krautrock influenced artists on Staubgold, and with ?S?dpol? he lives out that affinity even more than on his previous albums. Obviously, Krautrock isn?t Krautrock and many of the groups that were filed under that genre sounded entirely different from each other. Reuber?s music is closest to the more electronic of the German groups from the 1970s. A track like the constantly morphing ?Amundsen?, might have been influenced by ?Cluster II? and the album opener ?Altweiber? as well the best track on the album, entitled ?Nach vorn?, have quite a few similarities to Kraftwerk circa ?Autobahn? (which probably isn?t considered to be Krautrock anymore by most people). Despite these references, ?S?dpol? doesn?t sound all retro, but somehow timeless.

In the middle of the album, Reuber gets support on guitar from Joseph Suchy who adds an airy breeze to the tracks ?Tagebuch?, ?Auf Auf?, ?Nach vorn? and the title track, all of which may be seen as a suite (also including ?Sonnenbad? on which Suchy doesn?t participate), since they differ from the rest of the album in that they have a more distinct beat and a slightly lighter feel. The album ends with the incredibly atmospheric three-part ?Steppengraskrieger?, which begins with coming and going sonic waves before turning into an ending sequence which both reminds of 20th century classical music and folk music. ?Steppengraskrieger? is a worthy ending for a really worthwhile album. 7/10 -- Stephan Bauer (27 February, 2007)