posted: 2024-06-04 Zuckerzeit Cluster

An unexpected jump from the extended kosmische jams of Cluster 71 into uncharted territory that signaled their direction for years to come, Zuckerzeit presented a vision of electronic pop, fusing the duo’s haunted melodic sense with crisp, scratchy drum programs that provided a grounded focus to all those synthesizer warbles. Oddly, the ten short tracks have separate composer credits (five each), leading to the assumption that Roedelius handled more evocative synthesizer lines (“Hollywood,” “Rosa”) while Moebius pushed the group into experimental ground (“Rote Riki,” “Caramba”). It’s undoubtedly one of the most distinctive records in the Cluster discography, though the simple lack of space rock material makes it a difficult album to recommend from the outset.

John Bush, AllMusic

Cluster’s 1974 masterpiece Zuckerzeit combined trippy drum machine rhythms with woozy, pastoral melodies, resulting in a skewed, playful vision of futuristic pop. The recording remains a watershed moment in electronic music, and is easily one of the best albums of the ’70s.

Paul Simpson, AllMusic