Litmus

Berlin, long the capital of minimalism and techno-leaning dance music, has, over the past few years, become a more rock-oriented city. That's not to say that there've never been bands in Ellen Allien's base of operations, but they've never been very visible ...

One of my favorite finds from the German metropolis is Litmus (MySpace), a lo-fi outfit with an "elctro pop-infused ... distorted bass, rolling drums and rhythms of rhyming guitars" style. Imagine a super-dry and sparse version of the Postal Service or Styrofoam. For some reason, I keep wanting to call these guys Stereolab without the loungey swing and an extra sharp edge, but that may be total bogus.

Anyway, they're pretty darn good. Over their four-year career, the quartet has released a few EPs; the below tracks are from the most recent one, Maybe It's Time. Tune into these guys if you're looking for songs to chill out to. They wobble along in this lovely, uber-clean manner; an enchantingly atmospheric pop outfit.

Litmus - Attitude

Litmus - Destroy