MU
Out of Breach
Output
With electroclash and the various forms of minimalist electronic music that have risen since its fade, there’s been a definite pushing of the tolerance/good taste envelope. Try to visualize Peaches and not shudder. Where she was all about having the audience question her sexuality, Japan’s MU (Mutsumi Kanamori) wants her listeners to consider her sanity. From her introductory flights of Tourettes’ freestyle through the simulated (?) vomiting on “Throwing Up,” MU is no stranger to absurdity and bad taste. The oddest pairing on here comes with her vilification on “Paris Hilton” (“I’m the richest party dumb girl/would you like to look at my sex tape?”) while she champions M.J. with “Stop Bothering Michael Jackson” (Target is always a superstar/who’s genius, has huge talent/which no one else has right now.” The Engrish? Generally hilarious, though the few tracks where MU’s vocal calisthenics lead her to sound like she’s possessed by demons, specifically “I’m Coming to Get You,” are genuinely frightening.
Mu’s man-in-the-shadows, Maurice Fullton, supplies the disc with its musical counterpoints and keeps MU’s madness nominally in check. He lays out screeching horror film strings, ropey Daft Punk-eque bass lines and even an electro reconfiguration of big band jazz swing on “So Weak People.” Fullton’s shining moment comes after Mu’s run out of venom on “… Michael Jackson.” He cuts the engines and lets the track drift off into calm, contemplative territory. From the psych-ward to the dance floor, who would’ve thought?
Output: http://www.outputrecordings.com
