Mouse On Mars Brings Musical Sophistication to Techno

With the release of its third album, Autoditacker, Mouse on Mars is definitely a creature stirring the indie dance music scene. Released on the Chicago-based Thrilljockey label, Autoditacker wraps you up in swirls of repeated samples and drum loops. This kind of music-making may seem a bit hackneyed given the array of cookie-cutter techno groups out there, and after a first listen it seems easy enough to dismiss Mouse on Mars as just as another purveyor of boring rave music. But subsequent encounters with Autoditacker reveal a genuine musicality that contradicts this initial impression.

Instead of sounding like a random conglomeration of synthesized noises, most tracks on Autoditacker strike you as a unified whole. Only upon closer listening do their constituent parts become apparent. Samples and drum loops build on each other to form an almost seamless wall of sound. Rarely does one sample call attention to itself-except when the composition calls for it-and rarely does any sound seems superfluous. At times, Mouse on Mars samples live acoustic drums, but most of the time they use synthesized sounds percussively, a technique that makes their songs quite arresting. The 12 purely instrumental tracks on Autoditacker often revolve around a repeating rhythm loop that varies as the composition demands. On only a couple of tracks is there an actual melody line floating above the composition. Most often, melody is a product of the varying pitches of the simultaneous drum loops, and forms gradually as parts fall into place. The melody line is very punctuated and, in this sense, the compositions are very much like percussion music.

Mouse on Mars pulls off this complexity with an uncanny musicality. They aren't just standing behind synthesizers pushing buttons, but use electronics as bona fide instruments, not toys. The band is definitely at the wheel here-no computerized autopilot makes this album groove.

On some tracks Autoditacker is downright funky. Occasionally they play and sample live instruments, which after a few tracks of electronic barrage is refreshing. "Tamagnocci," for example, starts out with a sampled wah guitar, live drums come in, some synth sounds and a vamping bass line are mixed in and then Mouse on Mars gets down to some serious business. The result is a hard-rocking synthesis of K.C. and The Sunshine Band, Jimi Hendrix and Stereolab.

Luckily this repetition rarely degenerates into boring rhythm hooks. The compositions are well orchestrated and highly structured-phrases glide deftly into one another and fall cleanly into the flow of the music. A motif will enter, then another, and the rest will build on that foundation, churning over and over until one fades out, then another, and the composition ends. Unlike a lot of techno, the transitions are never stiff or mechanical and dynamics are employed quite sensitively.

The whirling drum loops and synth sounds have a mantra-like effect: repeated enough times it seems to take you out of the music. Autoditacker is very atmospheric, moody and dark, though never nihilistic. At many times it is intense, edgy and driving. Despite this, the emotional range expressed is somewhat narrow. Perhaps this is a limit of electronic music not even the mighty Mouse on Mars can overcome, as the instruments don't allow the musician to control the subtle nuances of timbre and emotion that he could with a cello or tenor saxophone. Maybe the range of musical expression offered by John Coltrane, for example, isn't what this genre is about. In any case, what little Mouse on Mars expresses is convincing.

Given the ethereal, almost other-worldly character of Autoditacker, where you listen to it may play an important role in appreciating it. When listening to this album, you may feel like there is more to the picture, as if Autoditacker was only a part of a larger aesthetic experience. Nonetheless, the chant-like quality of the rhythm loops is hypnotic to say the least.

Because Mouse on Mars offers so little emotional or stylistic variety, Autoditacker starts to seem formulaic after a couple spins. Their formula, though, is intoxicatingly musical and at times boldly innovative

Given the ethereal, almost other-worldly character of Autoditacker, where you listen to it may play an important role in appreciating it. When listening to this album, you may feel like there is more to the picture, as if Autoditacker was only a part of a larger aesthetic experience. Nonetheless, the chant-like quality of the rhythm loops is hypnotic to say the least.

Because Mouse on Mars offers so little emotional or stylistic variety, Autoditacker starts to seem formulaic after a couple spins. Their formula, though, is intoxicatingly musical and at times boldly innovative