John Maus
Songs

John Maus is part of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. He regularly plays alongside Animal Collective’s Panda Bear. Songs took five years to piece together, so as debuts go, this has a lot to live up to: “a manic lo-fi masterpiece” states the press release, confidently. Hmm…

‘Manic’ is one word for Maus’s synthesizer teasing and unique vocal style (more on that in a moment), and it’s lo-fi for sure, but a masterpiece? Nope, ‘fraid not. Certain instrumental segments sound like off cuts from the Blade Runner soundtrack – no bad thing – and can be eerily romantic in their execution, but Maus’s lyrics are, for the most part, awful. If the first-time listener makes it past the “sex with cars…” nonsense of track three, ‘Don’t Be A Body’, then they should afford themselves a little congratulatory applause.

If they don’t, the interesting and comparatively dramatic likes of ‘Just Wait Til Next Year’ and ‘And Heaven Turned To Her Weeping’ will remain forever unheard – the latter, the album’s closer, is actually fairly affecting despite its simple arrangement. Sadly, these are two of only a handful of highlights, as Maus’s baroquely deadpan voice – that’s being polite – effectively spoils many a song. Some will hear a little Nick Cave in it; others will hear a man crapping out of his mouth.

That said, hardcore Ariel Pink fans may get a slight kick out of these sixteen tracks, and the occasional nod to Liars and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, albeit probably unintentional, allows a little sunshine to brighten otherwise morose proceedings.