Mouse On Mars - 'Rost Pocks - The EP Collection' (Too Pure)
4/5
By: Toby L
'German electronica' generally proves to sound more scary a prospect than it actually is (after all, think the Krautrock likes of Kraftwerk, Can or Kluster - all bordering on genius). And 90s pioneers of such a scene, Mouse On Mars, even after all this time, certainly attest true to this previous rule.
Between 1993 and 1997 saw a specifically fertile period in MOM's existence; releasing three albums in the epoch, there was also a plethora of accompanying EP's - all chronicled in full via this retrospective, as released by their initial label-imprint, Too Pure.
As dazzling as ever, perhaps the serious surprise over this batch of fifteen recordings isn't so much the inclusion of an off-the-wall track or two here and there (although it does feature the pretty-hard-to-grab 'Maus Mobil' - once only available on an obscure compilation-album), but - instead - the fact that Mars' product still glimmers with all the frothy ideas and innovation that made these mice quite so distinctive in the first place.
And, as opposed to mere vermin copyists, Mouse On Mars have assembled a collection of material to stagger and inspire; from the riveting collage of soundscapes and spine-tingling sparseness of 'Frosch' or the DJ Crack remix of 'Saturday Night', what attracts the listener to this duo's cause is their panache of live over distressingly-produced - they use instruments to create this moderately rattling racket, laydees and gentlemen! The tone is even extended to that of more immediate beauty when Stereolab call in for a couple of collaborations - Laetitia Sadier's unique French tones gracing 'Schnick-Schnack' amidst a nigh-on glorious coalition of forces.
Sure, to the untrained, it may occasionally drag ('Sheesh, does 'Froschroom' really have to slumber over a full nine minutes,' you righteously ask yourself), but the minor vignettes in between (the sound-bite intricacy of 'Twift' and 'Rototon') keep things moving to a rumbling pace.
Essentially, of course, this is a unified document that's spent too long in the making - a final celebration of the early years of an ensemble whose consensus always seemed to be to dumbfound as opposed to imitate. And, naturally, this may make for the odd bump in the journey here and there, yet it still remains a legacy that's no less intriguing or compelling.
Artists in this article: Mouse On Mars
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