Word: synth
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...point of mushiness and his own strident warbling. Many of the tunes are based on progressions so simple that the verse and chorus are actually sung against the same set of chords--a technique which results in mind-numbing, repetitive songs. Almost every track also contains some old-school synth rhythms which, when used over and over again, quickly start to sound hackneyed rather than inventive...
...some tracks Autoditacker is downright funky. Occasionally they play and sample live instruments, which after a few tracks of electronic barrage is refreshing. "Tamagnocci," for example, starts out with a sampled wah guitar, live drums come in, some synth sounds and a vamping bass line are mixed in and then Mouse on Mars gets down to some serious business. The result is a hard-rocking synthesis of K.C. and The Sunshine Band, Jimi Hendrix and Stereolab...
...whirling drum loops and synth sounds have a mantra-like effect: repeated enough times it seems to take you out of the music. Autoditacker is very atmospheric, moody and dark, though never nihilistic. At many times it is intense, edgy and driving. Despite this, the emotional range expressed is somewhat narrow. Perhaps this is a limit of electronic music not even the mighty Mouse on Mars can overcome, as the instruments don't allow the musician to control the subtle nuances of timbre and emotion that he could with a cello or tenor saxophone. Maybe the range of musical expression...
...first, is almost totally organic. The group's trademark musical sound, the eerie, echoing swirl of Robin Guthrie's distorted guitars, is replaced with fragile picking on an acoustic guitar. Though the occasional soft chime of a synthesizer filters in, the tone is a far cry from the abrasive synth of their first few albums. "Half-Gifts," the final track, even features a four-part string section...
...That was a synth piece to begin work, but the thing we like about it now--I like about it now anyway--is that it was sort of set up as a jazz format, which we have no experience with. It was something called a head--none of us are jazztrained--and then each person gets a solo section and is allowed to improvise, and then it comes back to the head again and ends, which is totally different from a pop song. Which is great for me. and it's kinda funny because if you all end it together...