Mux – Can You See Who? EP
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| Mux - Can You See Who? |
Release Date: Out Now
OK, I’m sorry. I have to hold my
hands up on this one. I’ve been hogging this EP to my ears and not sharing it.
On the plus side, I’m sharing it now so stop looking at me like that.
Seriously, stop that. Londoners Mux are pretty new to the scene, they’re not
even out of their first year yet, but this four track EP shows that they mean
business and they know how to carry out their business. The EP opens with
recent single ‘MDMA’ and for the uninitiated then we’re talking Alt-J, Dutch
Uncles, Hot Chip and Depeche Mode all rolled in to one sexually aggressive tune
with demonic guitar wails and rhythms that pulse and throb like a submissive
tied to a leather chaise lounge. The band follow this up with ‘Teenager Father’
which starts off with the terrifying lyric “Kill me, mother, please kill me now”
before a chaotic electro-punk melee ensues until the music drops out, save for
a lonely guitar line, and that lyric is repeated again with chilling effect.
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| Mux - somebody forgot to bring their own chair |
In a world where the likes of
Slaves, Sleaford Mods and other abrasive alt-poppers are grabbing all the
headlines, Mux are striding up assuredly on the outside with all the attitude
and aggression but they’ve got the melodies and wit to match it as well. ‘Stray’
is a faltering, dark, edgy piece that rumbles and murmurs in the shadowy
corners as an organ bed is pummelled by stabbing beats and grating guitars. An
unexpected guitar solo line rings out like Hendrix noodling in the studio
during the smoke filled early hours and the vocals switch from sleazy crooner
in a Vegas dive bar to anguished indie scream that wouldn’t be out of place in
a Radiohead live set. The gloriously titled ‘Gold and Prozac’ brings this
collection to a close and the sketchy guitar line grabs your attention while
the rhythms build up from all directions until you feel like you’re in some
sort of experiment where they blast Basement Jaxx, the Fall and LCD Soundsystem
at you 24/7 until you can no longer make rational decisions about which members
of your family you’d save in a house fire. If you were to draw a Venn diagram
with circles for aggression, sexual energy, left fieldism, abrasiveness, style,
substance and a sense of the unhinged then Mux would exist in the tiny cross
section in the middle. Now, whether you want to join them in that exclusive
club is up to you but I’m sure as shit heading in so hold my pint if you’re not
coming too.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/this.is.mux/?hc_ref=SEARCH
Live Dates:
22nd October – LWM presents Blogtoberfest @ The
Finsbury, London (FREE ENTRY) w/Paul Armer