Every seemingly insurmountable black cloud has its silver lining, and in the case of Detroit, Mich.'s descent into post-industrial Hell, most of those have been musical. Before everything went to shit, Motown Records used the assembly line concept to make pitch-perfect pop; in the years leading up to the 12th Street riot, the members of The Stooges and The MC5 were among a generation that saw a future beyond a factory; you may go as far to say that the Belleville Three developed techno to show that, at the end of the day (and deep, deep into the night), it was still the humans who were in charge of the machines. And in a much more literal way, Detroit's mass decommissioning meant that former temples of mechanization like the Russell Industrial Center could be re-commissioned into living quarters, rehearsal spaces, and recording studios for Motor City musicians. The RIC became all three for the six weeks Zoos Of Berlin put together its debut full-length, Taxis.

Even if it weren't recorded in an old factory, Taxis would sound like it's haunted by the ghosts of modernity: The loping rhythm of opener "Century Rail" approximates a ride on the kind of mass transportation Detroit city planners eschewed in favor of the Interstate Highway system and mostly useless downtown trams. (To quote Sufjan Stevens: "People Mover/Bad decision.") But within the song's bounding optimism is a touch of existential dread: time falls away into the sea, streetlights act not as helpful beacons but instruments of surveillance. The feelings of alienation Taxis inherited from David Bowie's Low really puts the emphasis on the "Berlin" part of the band's name, but rather than voice those feelings through strung-out yelps at the wall, vocalist Trevor Naud sings with soothing restraint. The cool calm of Naud's voice will almost make you forget how creepy a line like "Kneeling at the altar giving honest love" (from the throbbing, Grizzly Bear-esque "Formal Is At Noon"), which only makes it creepier.

Taxis also reflects Low's Krautrock-derived emphasis on repetition and minimalism, so if you're honing in on Will Yates' keyboard parts hoping that he'll go off on some Rick Wakemanian flight of fancy, this isn't your kind of record. No, this the type of record that exists firmly in the pocket, though that pocket has room for "Electrical Way," an itchy little number that despite being six years too late for disco-punk—and 30 years too late for actual disco—is still awesome. Even when the tempos push toward for the dance floor, Taxis remains a sleek, precision-tuned piece; the phrase "tasteful chatter" from "Stay By The Ark" could sum up the entire record. In that way, Taxis isn't to dissimilar from the products that used to roll out of the Russell Industrial Center—but more records like this would dig Detroit out of its hole.

Recommended Tracks: "Formal Is At Noon," "Electrical Way"