Electric Mud - The Deconstruction Of Light - 2017
“... a patchwork of musical fragments and ideas ...”
intro
Over the years the German based Electric Mud transformed from a Live trio into a studio project. “The Deconstruction Of Light” is the third album of Electric Mud, a project of Hagen Bretschneider (idea, sound concept, bass), Lennart Huper (rhythm guitar) and Nico Walser (all other instruments & sound alchemy). Their website is speaking of “Where Post-Progressive-Rock, Kosmische Musik and Krautrock figure in a magic clay...”.
line-up
review
The title “The Deconstruction Of Light” reminds me about an album title of King Crimson. But to be honest I don’t see a strong reference to the music of this band. Maybe a little bit in the first part of opener “Deadend Mind”. A dark part with some Doom and Stoner Rock influences. But the song develops gradually more into an electronic soundscape with references to Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream. The last part with the xylophone and the synths has a strong resemblance to one of the best Steve Hackett songs (“Shadow of the Hierophant”) from his debut album “Voyage Of The Acolyte”. It sounds nice but is not very original. But maybe the musicians didn’t know this and somehow it slipped into the music. “Canary in a Cathouse” has a classical piano opening before the distorted guitar and the drum computer kicks in. This part has some Post Rock and Rock (Deep Purple) influences. This long track has it’s moments but for me it is too fragmented. Although I love the broad synth layers in the end. “Black Dog” reminds me again of a Rock band like Deep Purple. To be honest I don’t think that the standard progVisions reader is waiting for this. Just when I write this the song becomes more electronic and has a beautiful ending. The title of “Suburban Wasteland Blues” says everything. The next song with it’s jazzy guitar parts “Heads In Beds” is more interesting. After that jazzy opening the music changes into an electronic piece with some Tangerine Dream influences. The ending with the guitar melodies is nice. Also this piece sounds fragmented to me. “Throw The Gates” is one of the few songs who does not have that problem. And I notice that I listen more concentrated to this electronic piece which has definitely some Tangerine Dream influences. The album ends with “Moongarden” a reprise of that familiar xylophone part. Now the resemblance is not so strong and can we enjoy the slow and broad synth layers.
conclusion
The album sounds often like a patchwork of musical fragments and ideas. Personally I like the electronic side of the music with references to the music of Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre. But the Rock and Blues side of the album is not adventurous enough for me. You can find some nice synth and guitar melodies on this instrumental album. My favorite songs are the opener “Deadend Mind” (especially the familiar ending), “Through The Gates” and “Moongarden”.