Mugison - Mugiboogie

Genre electronica Publisher Ipecac Recordings External Links Mugison Website Mugison MySpace

Listening to Mugiboogie, the new album from Mugison that drops on June 24th, conjures similar feelings to reading someone's personal journal. Contained within its twelve tracks are a myriad of half-formed thoughts, a couple of real gems, and the whole affair seems like it was meant as a private exercise rather than for public consumption. Mugison is actually a one-man act, comprised solely of Örn Elías Guðmundsson with his guitar and computer. Hailing from Iceland, he enjoys quite a following at home and Mugiboogie is his fifth studio album. Throughout the disc, the style varies wildly, seeming to revel in its own randomness. One track will evoke a classic blues sensibility, with acoustic guitar and gravelly drawl, while the very next song will see Mugison screaming as if performing hardcore metal. But, whatever ground the collection loses to its in cohesive nature, it definitely gains back with a few rare inspired moments.

Far and away the best of these moments is the opener, "Mugiboogie." Starting with jangling synthesizer beat, it quickly adds the drum rhythm that truly drives the track. If it were not for the electronic twinge, the song could pass for fifties or sixties lounge staple. Amazingly, this works famously when coupled with Mugison's energetic, possibly desperate, vocal delivery. Just to top off the whole spectacle, "Mugiboogie" concludes with some impressive guitar work building to crescendo and immediate halt. A different side makes itself apparent on two later tracks, "To the Bone" and "Jesus is a Good Name to Moan." Veering away from the heavy electronica, Mugison reveals himself to be a surprisingly competent blues guitarist. Both are excellent examples of his vocal range, switching, without effort, from a hoarse voice that rings of a long time pack-a-day habit to falsetto, hitting the upper ranges with ease. While not an especially impressive lyricist ("To the Bone" features the refrain "You're lovin' pulls me through/ Yeah I owe it all to you"), what truly sets this one-man band apart is the showmanship with which the songs are performed.

Unfortunately, it is when Mugison attempts to be the most experimental that he is the least compelling. "Two Thumb Sucking Son of a Boyo" features a hardcore guitar riff, pounding drums, and screaming vocals. In the end it resembles nothing so much as ill-conceived, jumbled disaster. The attempt at metal is even more apparent on "I'm Alright," the screaming reaches a level where it is nigh impossible to distinguish any single word, let alone make a sentence. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum is "George Harrison," a rambling mix of ancient country overtones with a bit of electronica tossed in for good measure. The result is uninspired and frighteningly bland. While it is hard to describe many of the other songs as bad, several simply sound like demos of ideas abandoned three quarters of the way through.

I am not one to often recommend an album based on a small selection of quality tracks, versus a pile of filler, but with Mugiboogie that is just the nature of the beast. Due to the album's "throw everything at the wall, see what sticks" quality, it is almost inevitable that one would find it difficult to fall for every song. That said, Mugison's latest outing has enough standout moments to be worth giving Mugiboogie a chance.