MUSH
Brooklyn meets Briton. Taking the baton that outfits like Parquet Courts and B Boys have championed and passing it across the Atlantic, a new breed of jangly, post-punk emerges in the form of Mush. Releasing their third studio album, the Leeds quartet deliver Down Tools.
Setting the scene for the album, the opening track Grief Thief bounces out of the gates with Dan Hyndman’s vocals bopping in oscillating unison with the guitar work of Myles Kirk.
A 60’s throwback sees some big phat semi-acoustic sounds in Karoshi Karaoke as Hyndman’s distinctive vocals yet again take centre stage. Commanding by nature and fascinating by the tale Hyndman weaves, his lyricism meanders and demands that you follow.
Lead single Get On Your Soapbox takes a page from Captain Beefheart’s playbook with wayward guitar hooks and solo jams colliding, clashing and amplifying till they reach a peaking cacophony of sound. A track that would make for an interesting live rendition.
The bass driven Human Resources takes a detour as it slows the pace down and settles into a slow jam. A brief respite before returning to speed with the wobbly and zippy Northern Safari.
From out of the garage and into indie, Dense Traffic is more of a traditional tune. Perhaps in the absence of Hyndman’s vacillating vocals the track appears sugary with pop sensibilities yet still shares the unmistakable hallmarks of the signature sound Mush have been steadily carving out over the past two records.
Inkblot and The Wedge has reverb cranked to 11. Using washed-out guitars to great effect as they shimmy and shake their way through a five and half minute freak out. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts as it fuses three seemingly separate tracks into a well-blended and ballsy track.
To lighten the load Group of Death is a lofty and psychedelic acoustic number. Gentle in its delivery, the track takes a walk along the fretboard as it wonders with direction unknown. The same cannot be said however for Groundswell as the energy and intensity of the Down Tools kicks back in. Driving guitar licks shredding at a breakneck speed, matched only by feverish drumming and moments of distortion.
With fuzzed-out and thick bass lines, Interlude is cinematic in the dark and mischievous atmosphere it conjures. The brooding instrumental track teases as if about to launch into something explosive yet peters out before the chance arises. Sliding back into familiar view Burn, Suffering! centres around an almost imperceptible Casio tone before having some wig-out moments complete with impromptu screams and off-key My Bloody Valentine guitar.
Concluding with the self-titled Down Tools, a subdued Hyndman almost whispers the lyrics. Paired with stripped-back instrumentation from the rest of the band, the track makes one wonder which is the true Mush but before there is a chance to answer that question a brain-bending sonic meltdown rounds off the album before abruptly ending in silence. That’s the Mush we know and love and is what makes this record another genuine auditory excursion.
