Mugison is a weird dude. Of course he is, he’s an Icelandic musician. This is the country that brought us Sigur Ros, Mum and the queen of all things WTF, Bjork. But Mugison is a little different from his decidedly very different musical countrymen. While his compatriots prefer to dabble in the realms of experimental noise, electronica and whatever the hell Bjork is doing right now, Mugison seems determined to keep his decidedly off-center music firmly planted in American-influenced blues rock, making him slightly more accessible than the throngs of batshit crazy artists from the land of puffin. Slightly being the key word, because while Mugison’s latest release, Mugiboogie, is pretty bluesy, it’s still pretty damn weird. The title track, for instance, buries the blues riffs behind a sea of wacky keyboard sounds while the insanely freaky “I’m Alright” pairs up a soundscape of near-random noise with a shocking example of Cookie Monster death metal vocalizing by Mugison, who otherwise maintains a cool, slightly throaty, blues singing style through most of the album. When it all comes together, though, it works beautifully, the best example being the brilliantly abrasive “Jesus Is a Good Name to Moan,” in which Mugison angrily demands his girlfriend tell him who this Jesus guy is and why she’s yelling his name while they do it. Yeah, that may sound funny, but there is no humor in the surprisingly dark and powerful tune. Other highlights include the anti-government “The Animal” and almost-metal “Two Thumb Sucking Son of a Boyo.” This is one wacky album. Fans of Beck and Soulwax should definitely take note of this Icelandic kook. (Ipecac Recordings)
