Although the name says La! Neu?, the name of Klaus Dinger's (of Neu! and La Düsseldorf fame) 90s supergroup, do not be misled. This album is not La! Neu? - it's Rembrandt. Rembrandt Lensink, the piano and occasional synth player of La! Neu?.

I'm not going to lie: most of the album is full of throwaway ambient garbage. Nice enough to use as background music, you understand, but you could do a lot better. Of course, this album is not without its merits, and although overall it comes out as a pretty bad album, there are a few gems.

We are treated to a few ambient pieces (H2O Cantate, 39C ohne Eselin..., Sun and Moon in Conjunction), an awfully simple synth/piano riff that actually ends up being mildly interesting (Techno Billy I/II/III), some short sound clips of people speaking, and even a Japanese woman speaking over what appears to be a pornography film (Nippon Video Geisha) before we finally reach our first standout track.

God Strikes Back, although split into 3 parts, is basically one track. A tense atmosphere is maintained throughout, with pulsating synth and bell sounds that fight each other to be the dominant sound. The track progresses slowly (as does much of this album), but keeps you listening throughout, wondering what Rembrandt is going to do next, with all of this tension. Granted, he does absolutely nothing, but later on, Rembrandt seems to use this to his advantage, by releasing lots of tension with one song (Information Overload, coincidentally the best track on the album (why did he not do more tracks like it? The mind boggles).

We are then treated to yet more throwaway tracks (Die kranke Eule, Frog in UFO, H2O II, Frog takes off, Synthesiser leiser, 440 Herz, Radio Vaticana) before Rembrandt finally decides to stop churning out filler tracks.

After a long fade out, we are greeted by a radical change in the mood. A song almost only made up of percussion (with some fuzzy guitar) - of course, it had to be Dinger trying to save the day. Only Dinger could encourage Rembrandt not to drone on with his longwinded synth tracks. The result almost sounds like early Einstürzende Neubauten had they done a short instrumental jam. The texture becomes thicker and thicker before exploding into a percussive rhythm that flows along with the fuzzy guitar.

And then, just as Dinger is saving face, we meet Und Dann? / So What?. As I have said a few times, it's nice enough to listen to, but Und Dann?... is the biggest offender on this album. It barely changes throughout the gargantuan 11:39 it drones on us. Synth keys are played in uncertain sequences, threatening to build into a melody, as shaker sounds are continuously made along with other synthesised percussion. Possibly the worst track on the album.

But don't turn it off just yet. Information Overload, the next track, as it fades in, threatens to be little more than an Und Dann?... rehash. But useless rehash it ain't. A 'dark' synthesiser sound fades in for a minute or so, before exploding into anarchic percussion, synthesised chords crashing down upon the thick percussive mist. The tension has been released. And this time, Rembrandt didn't even need Dinger!

After the chaos has died down, we get a break. Finally, Rembrandt succeeds at creating an decent ambient track, with the next track, Kiss me stupid!. The sound of rain falling as pulsating synth fades in and out, which occasionally changes key - a very effective, relaxing method. It brings the feeling of rainy afternoons, the times when you would spend time inside, watching the rain. For once, the lack of tension is appreciated. Rembrandt makes no effort to make a bold track here. Instead, the sound of rain, the sound of waves, the sound of bubbling gently brings us to the final end of the album, (hopefully) leaving us much happier than when we started it.

So overall, Rembrandt is a bad album. Personally, I think it should not carry the name of La! Neu? whatsoever, as it may mislead fans into what they're buying. If you're a large fan of Dinger's songs, such as Hero, the only track you probably find interesting is New York Master Trash Can - and even that pushes the boundaries.

I was very disappointed when I first bought Rembrandt, but now I look on it with a differ outlook. It is not a good album by any means, it's actually quite awful. It's just Dinger letting one of his colleagues run rampant with an amateur album. Rembrandt says himself in the liner notes: "Yes, this is a one instrument direct recording without computer, external sequencer or multi-track mixing. No, it's more a spontaneous compilation of noise events not a high-tech music production."

And that is exactly what he achieved. Far from perfect, far from a classic, and it pales in comparison to every other album of La! Neu?. Rembrandt simply chose to express himself through an imperfect sequence of mostly-ambient sound clips. And in that way, he succeeded. But still, it doesn't make for excellent listening. Only buy this if you're prepared to be disappointed with most of the tracks!

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