Monthly Archives: October 2010
John Maus
Maus is a music artist that combines a brevity of songwriting with an aptitude in arrangement to bring beautfiul music to the fore. His brittle low-fidelity electro pop stems from a 1980s pop culture influence that has been refined through a prism of academia; having studied music extensively at CalArts and gaining a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii.
The release featured below is 2006′s Through The Skies For You from his first commercial album Songs, that followed on from over a decade of self-produced records that he released ‘underground’. The track is accompanied by a video excerpt from the spectacular late 1950s live action Fuhrer ZZZ Japanese television series; an early manga precursor to what subsequently became Astro Boy.
Maus is enchanting in the release of his music as far as I am concerned; he uses perhaps romantic mediums such as cassettes and coloured vinyl.
He is certainly a craftsman of auditory sensation as you may agree from listening yourself:
John Maus is on Upset The Rhythm records.
-RTB
Death Valley Mustangs
Welcome to hybridised rock.
The Mustangs are a live 4-piece that take the stage with formiddable force. Wearing their influences on the sleeve, these lads present a wall of sound that leaves one reeling. The music lets loose amidst odes to Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Van Halen, The Meanies, Henry Rollins, and contemporary Desert Sessions against an early psy-rock reminiscent of ELO or a Syd Barrett Pink Floyd. However, their sound is their own and the Lo-Fidelity improvisation that marks their climactic waves are an overwhelming sonic pleasure for your sconce.
To critique The Mustangs I would note that their sound overwhelmes the vocal talent of both leading men Slim Jim and Micky Stephendaughter. However, their larynx emissions improve with measured input from the bass guitar behemoth Big Tony, whose subtlety leaves one awaiting a Motorhead’s Lemmy style roar.
‘Bone Diggin‘ Live at the Grace Darling, Collingwood:
Check the Death Valley Mustangs next sound orgasm: Friday, 5th November at Revolver.
-RTB
