Mouse on Mars. Live. Sonig (Germany). 9/5/05.
Reviewed by DJ matthew stark rubin. 12/29/05. FCC clean.

Techno Pop. I don’t really listen to much electronic music, but this really got the Escondido Village bumpin. It’s poppy, the songs are well-constructed, and you can dance to it. Most tracks basically build up, get stripped down, and build back up. Very prog-y. A typical roadmap, but done w/ great melodies and crazy rhythms. Unlike most techno, it doesn’t sound to me like it meanders. It’s live (awesome!), so lots of crowd noise at start/end of songs- fade ‘em in/out. My picks: 1, 4, 5

1- hip-hop-y vox sample and beat joined by thick synth. Only track with lead vox! A really poppy and catchy chorus. Most pop-song-like track.
2- More traditional techno sounding. Kinda disco in coda, but boring to me.
3- funky groove but darker than other songs. (think u.n.k.l.e.).
4- Insane! Fast! Synth Melodies are great too.
5- fast technopop. This is an ass shaker- I studied to this one SO HARD. Starts soft.
6- starts with single synth pulse, then gets all polyrhythmic and shit as different parts gradually come in. Less dance, more experimental sounding than rest of the album.
7- starts with weird synthesized voice, settles into straightforward, mid-tempo synth pop. Triumphant coda sounds like something Michael Jackson could sing over.
8- I think you call this breakbeat? Hard fart-like synth hits at the top, various odd vocal samples, and driving backbone rhythm. Another victorious coda.
9- ambient intro. Builds into emotional Queer-As-Folk soundtrack fodder.