Electric Mud is a German musical trio that was initiated by bass player Hagen Bretschneider, who together with rhythm guitarist Lennart Hüper created their first album; Dead Cat On A Railroad Track in 2013. Two years later a follow-up came with the name Lunatic Asylum. Nico Walser, who also contributed as lead guitarist, produced the album. Since the co-operation with Walser went pretty well, Electric Mud became the trio they are now, focussing more on their work in the studio than on their live performances. In 2016 Electric Mud released Wrong Planet and now The Deconstruction Of Light has been released. Musically, you could label Electric Mud's music as Post Progressive Rock, with many side influences. So is the opener Deadend Mind, a dark soundscape versus post rock kind of composition. Bretschneider's bass has a rumbling dirty sound and forms the base for this intriguing composition, that is also filled with subtle Rhodes, delicate guitars and a lot of electronic adds. During the following Canary In A Cathouse, the post rock base of the music has been complemented with Pink Floyd referring elements. Especially the guitar solo, fusing both musical styles into perfection. For Black Dog we have to go back to the seventies. This very interesting composition definitely has its roots in that area. Nasty Deep Purple (Smoke On The Water) guitar riffs perfectly blend in the style Electric Mud have created for themselves. Certainly a great song and the delicately used sound alchemy makes them really own the song. Like the previous track, Suburban Wasteland Blues takes you back in time in the beginning, just to return with a modern; jazzy twist this time. During Heads In Beds the moods gets darker, but still remains very fresh. Slow and dark emotional parts are the base for lots of electronic escapades and again the David Gilmour referring guitar iced this one. Different, definitely more electronic than the other tracks is Through The Gates; an atmospherical soundscape that keeps your attention for the full four minutes. Too bad, the final track Moongarden has kind of the same impact as the previous song. I was hoping for a fine snoring bass and a bit of power to finish The Deconstruction Of Light. Although the composition is a fine one, I would prefer to finish on another kind of high. The Deconstruction Of Light turned out to be a very decent album, especially the first five tracks are intriguing by the way they fuse several musical styles and create a sound of their own. Too bad the two final tracks are (pleasant) soundscapes. I miss the extras that the previous track gave me. Due to these final tracks, my stars remain at four. **** Pedro Bekkers (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
