Avant-pop visionary John Maus has lurked around the edges of alternative pop and indie for over a decade. From being Ariel Pink’s roommate at the California Institute of the Arts in ’98, to serving as keyboardist for Pink’s critically lauded Haunted Graffiti band, and performing as touring keyboardist with both Animal Collective and Panda Bear; Maus’ musical credits stretch far beyond most artists operating within the realm of pop.
Maus is getting set to release an already sold-out, career-spanning 6 LP box set on vinyl which includes his latest offering, 2017’s Screen Memories, as well as all three previous studio albums (Songs, Love is Real, We Must Be Come the Pitiless Censors…) and a rarities compilation which will see release later this month. Maus’ latest LP, his sixth full length, Addendum –originally set to be a part of Maus’ forthcoming box set only- will now see a standalone release on May 18th. A collection of B-sides and new tunes, Addendum features 12 additional recordings nestled alongside the tracks that solidified into last year’s excellent Screen Memories LP. Giving us a bit of a taste of things to come on Addendum, Maus has also gifted us with “Episode”, an intoxicating synth-pop movement in which his melodiously vamping vocals float across arpeggiated beats and icy analog synth lines.
Stream “Episode” above, pre-order Addendum here, and check out John Maus’ impending tour dates after the jump.
Throughout every corner of music, “supergroups” are all too often hyped to an unthinkable degree; resulting in music that sounds forced together failing to live up to lofty expectations. Such is nowhere near the case for electronic-pop project Mt. Si, who have been quietly authoring an excellent palate of sonic expressions.
Mt. Si is the tasteful union between friends Michael David of Classixx, Jesse Kivel of Kisses and Sarah Chernoff formerly of Superhumanoids –now creating music as a solo artist. The trio first began collaborating during recording sessions from Classixx’ excellent LP Hanging Gardens, and discovered together they wielded quite the creative chemistry. Their latest release, the 911 EP, a follow up to their Limits EP in 2016, recently saw release via Cascine and features three new tracks from the group.
Mt. Si’s 911 EP follows the group’s blueprint, which is the effortless ability to brush pop sensibilities into a dreamy brand of low-key dance music. Title track “911” is an addictive electronic gem featuring Chernoff’s weightless vocals vaulted against a bed of alto-saxophone, gentle harmonies, and rolling percussion. B-side “Annie” is another earworm of a pop diamond that excellently rounds out the EP after the Reed Mix of “911” has run its course. Perhaps the term side project will gradually be taking a backseat behind releases like this from Mt. Si, and you can be sure that we’ll keep you in the loop until then.
