The Man-Machine

The Man-Machine is Kraftwerk's most perfect sequence of songs, 'The Model', 'Neon Lights' and the title track built with a pop precision the group rarely bettered. Every idea arrives cleanly, every melody earns its space, and the machine aesthetic never crowds out the songs. Even the futurism has hooks. An ancestor on a rave list sits at honest altitude, and as craft this is close to flawless.

The grammar everything here speaks. Four men, matching suits, and melodies precise enough to survive being sampled by Detroit, the Bronx and half of Europe. The Model is a pop song that happens to have arrived from the future.