MUGSTAR

Anyway, we kick off strongly with 'Technical Knowledge' and 'Ouroboros', two tracks displaying all of this band's chops: early Hawkwind space-rock, entrancing drumming straight from Neu!, sound collagues like Can, and all of that delivered with the punk-noise guts of Sonic Youth. The short 'Labrador Hatchet' is rather plain but offers some calm before the next sonic kraut storm of 'Today is the Wrong Shape', the only track to contain some vocals. Another short droning interlude precedes the 13 minute closer 'Furklausundbo', a nice upbeat tribute to Neu!'s 'Halogalo', I don't get any 'wow' experience from it though.

Overall a good album for fans of Neu!, be it rather short and playing it a bit too safe.

The opening 'Sunburnt Impedance Machine' is one of the best pieces here, offering a bluesy - almost Stoner - trip back to the great days of space-rocking Hawkwind of 1972. There's some punk energy added into it and it makes for a very dynamic and varied track, despite the insistent static trance beat of the drums. 'Serra' is more laid-back and less interesting, containing far too few ideas to go on for 13 minutes. Flash forward to 'Radar King' that picks up where the opening track left. This also reminds me of early Monster Magnet, having the same rough 'Stooges meets Hawkind meets punk-noise' vibe, be it instrumental here. 'Beyond the Sun' is more relaxed again, and better then 'Serra', although I find this band to be in better shape if they fully rock out.

Another good album from Mugstar, but not essential outside the space-rock-punk-kraut fanclub.

It all starts with the dynamic Technical Knowledge As A Weapon which indeed has an industrial tech touch. The strong mantra-like behaviour, you'll find all over by the way, points to obvious krautrock influences. The aggressive Ouroboros next is dangerous as no other. The first time I thought about a seatbelt for my music chair, just because otherwise this would blow me away sooner or later ... even though it slips into a groovier cosmic orbit in between for some time. Anyway - afterwards Labrador Hatchet provides a short timeframe in order to recover, at least for to refit hair and bones. A floating piece of work coupled with weird creepy and chirping synths, cinematic in some way, showing another sort of dramaturgy and definitely suitable for sci-fi or scary movies - irresistible!

On Today Is The Wrong Shape Pete Smyth and Neil Murphy build up walls of guitars in the vein of Subarachnoid Space and Furklausundbo is a space groover where Steve Ashton's stoic drum playing is remarkable, once more stylistically referring to bands like Can or Neu!. And coming towards the end they officially confirm that the circle never ends - which means the same alerting pulsative synths, which have already opened the album, appear again. And this makes it clear at the latest that repetitve motifs are an important trademark.

So maybe you can say on '... Sun, Broken ...' MUGSTAR are blending the heaviness of Hawkwind, the fury of punk bands and the repetitiveness of White Hills - successful as it is. This is surely dedicated to fans of edgy psych/space prog music and especially of bands like Oneida, The Vocokesh, F/I, Escapade, to name but a few - this clientele can grasp here without thinking too much - 3.5 stars.