Møtrik’s name is pretty self-explanatory: The Portland four-piece’s moniker refers to the simple, pulsing 4/4 motorik beat that permeates many krautrock records, and they deploy many of the same devices as bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! But Møtrik is much craftier than their name implies.
With their new album Safety Copy, the band revs up the rock throttle while retaining the celestial underpinnings of their 2014 debut, which makes for a more immediate, yet still compelling listen. In fact, the added grit pushes Møtrik’s sound to even greater dimensions, especially on tracks like “King øf Tønga,” which builds around a corroded guitar riff before it’s slowly overtaken by a swarm of bass and synth. In just over five minutes, the song transforms into something completely different.