Techno supergroup
Moderat
went on hiatus in 2017, following three studio albums and a highly successful tour that culminated in a sold-out Berlin homecoming show, documented on their 2016
Live
release.
Modeselektor
and
Apparat
remained active with their own projects, but when COVID-19 put a halt to live performances in 2020, the artists had nothing else to do but work on music.
released a series of soundtrack albums, while
produced the 27-track mixtape
Extended
, as well as a series of EPs and the unmixed
EXTLP
. The trio also worked on new
material, retooling their compositional methods as they became reacquainted with collaborating together. With no touring plans for anyone in sight, the material on
More D4ta
(an anagram of "Moderat 4") ended up being less anthemic and festival-ready than the group's past efforts, and more expressive of fear and isolation. Apart from the sprawling "Neon Rats," sort of a progressive house cousin to
II
's still-stunning minimal techno epic "Milk," the majority of
's tracks are concise tunes with a paranoid edge. "Easy Prey" is one of
Sascha Ring
's most upfront vocal showcases on the album, and his anxious, vulnerable verses are punctuated with a dazzling, glitchy refrain. "Undo Redo" matches jittery modular synth textures with one of
Ring
's most
David Gahan
-worthy performances, and "Doom Hype" is a similarly thrilling update of
Depeche Mode
's gloomy electro-pop. "More Love" is steadily paced yet urgent, extensively repeating the phrase "From lost to loved and back again," and "Copy Copy" expresses the dehumanization of being cut off from the outside world, driving the point home with electronically cloaked vocals during the song's midsection.
is
's most introverted album, artfully expressing the tension of lockdown and facing an uncertain future. ~ Paul Simpson