The German duo of Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are up to more no-goodnik with Instrumentals, a work that delivers what it promises, if you take the word "instrumental" to mean no vocals of course. They are renowned for their layering prowess -- mathematically beveling inorganic and organic noise makers within each other to the height of melodic hypothesis -- and the initial space within their songs is deceiving. Often I found myself feeling very cold and berated amidst their songs, yet there is warmth, as if I was confined to a great hall of nagging imbaglers, where metal and teeth connect amidst Aesop's Fables ad infinitum. And while their music is not linear by any means, there is a strong sense of drawing, on a multi-dimensional canvas. Sharp, thin, blue lines cutting through and under charcoal blacks and oranges, twisting the listener's aura. An aesthetic is difficult to pin-point, but Mouse on Mars seem to insist that their sonic progeny is pop, as John Malkovich is celebrity I suppose. It is probably wise to encourage repeated listens in solitude. Perhaps beyond wise, it is necessary. But that is surely what they demand, as Germans are prone to do.
