Hailing from Dusseldorf and Cologne, Deutschland, Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars have been tearing up experimental ambient music for over ten years. Known for their meticulous manipulation of sound, the band has raced around all sorts of wild tangents throughout their discography, mainly keeping a general rule to let the music do primarily the talking.
A band well-liked by peers Tortoise, Seefeel and Sterelab, Mouse on Mars have been around since 1994's Vulvaland, back when the band was on London's Too Pure. Somewhere in between was Glam, an album originally created as a soundtrack for a straight to video movie starring Tony Danza before it was rejected. Mouse on Mars have now released what they call their pop album, Radical Connector, marking their ten year anniversary making ambient music in the post rock scene. The album follows the wild tangent 2001's Idiology went off on, using percussionist MOM newcomer’s Dode Nkishi’s vocals to create several of the track’s beats, sounding more like Basement Jaxx or Daft Punk than post rock’s predecessors.
Tracks like “Send Me Shivers” and “The End,” both featuring guest vocalist Niobe of Mouse on Mars’ own Sonig records, fare the best for their infectiousness. “Blood Comes” and “All the Old Powers” succeed at the opposite end of the techno spectrum, using powerful, sinister beats to make their political statement. Unfortunately, the points Mouse on Mars are trying to fuse on Radical Connector lose their focus after a while, making the disc somewhat unnavigable.
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