Mugstar Lime

Liverpool’s hard working Mugstar reissue their 2010 album Lime, a dense and dirty collection of driving motorik instrumentals and continuous, expectant psych-rock grooves. The album follows a different layout to the three-note progressive nature of their previous self titled album and last year’s ...Sun, Broken..., consisting of four full-band ambient, metal and pastoral psychedelia tracks each between 7 and 13 minutes long. What remains, however, is the electronic and krautrock influence that has bolstered their primal live power since emerging in 2002, touring tirelessly with like-minded outfits including Oneida and Faust, covering Hawkwind on a split 10” with Mudhoney, and most famously being handpicked by legendary British DJ John Peel for what turned out to be his final “Peel Session” on BBC Radio One.

The Floydian titled album opener Sunburnt Impedance Machine alternates between pulverising riffology and washes of treated guitar noise, all propelled along by the metronomic precision of the drums. It’s a title that fits the mood of the piece, as locked krautrock rhythms emerge as they key influence behind Mugstar’s turbo charged minimalism. Thirteen minute Serra follows with its distant bursts of clarinet (supplied by Clinic’s Jonathan Hartley), swelling synths and organ, extending musical manoeuvres and textures into new territories - it’s the most enticing track on the album. Noisy, dissonant Radar King commands its share of the disc, and the driving riff passages, soaring guitars, and melodic wordless vocals, reminiscent of Mogwai, build to an apocalyptic finale, which gives way to the slowcore psych jam of Beyond The Sun. This closes the album in a more reflective and restrained mood, atmospherically churning its sauntering bass and fluttering synths.

Not always a comfortable listen, Mugstar’s sound is the predominant force behind their power and undeniable energy, and the peaks and troughs of Lime and the general feeling of unease throughout makes them a compelling and oddly cleansing experience.