Instrumentals

Mouse On Mars

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 2000)
• Original Release Date: November 21, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• ASIN: B000053UEP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,267 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though it verges on the lackadaisical, this utterly enjoyable record radiates the attentive playfulness that Mouse on Mars bring to their warbly, crunchy beat salads. Originally released on vinyl on the tails of the group's excellent 1997 album Autoditacker, Instrumentals feels a bit like it was cobbled together from pieces on the cutting room floor. But since Mouse on Mars's Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are so good with their sonic bits and pieces, the collection does not feel at all like a throwaway. Lovely little melodies arise but then wander away again in the company of various burps, snaps, and fizzy bits that waddle off like landlocked ducks. Six minutes into "PegelGesetzt" you hear a single non-repeating funhouse "wheeeee"--a minute later, a horn. Not a serious record, but a substantial one. --Erik Davis

Product Description

Composed between 1995 and 1997 and released exclusively on vinyl at the time. Out of print until now 'Instrumentals' is assorted sonic and psychic electronic particles bursting and inflating, overlapping and elevating. Digipak.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect MoM album., March 11, 2001

By	Duy Q. Tran (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This vinyl only album is finally being released on CD. It's too bad if you don't have the vinyl b/c all the crackles and pops from over-play really add to the sound.:). What makes this album so good is that it is short (~40mins) and the selection of material is perfect. There is no filler, only perfect transitions--which is not always true with other MoM albums. It swirls from melody to bubbly ambience to white noise....then back again. something else about this album is that it keeps it's laid back ambient mood throughout and there are no hyperkinetic tracks here. you really feel as if you are immersed in warm alien amniotic fluid. If nothing else the aptly titled possibly best MoM song, "chromantic" is worth the purchase of the album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The mice have done it again., December 14, 2000

By	Russell Harris - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Stylistically INSTRUMENTALS is somewhere between the techno goofiness of AUTODITAKER or IORTA TAHITI and the ambient soundscapes of GLAM. It contains the kind of distorted sounds that any MoM fan will be familiar with. MoM dosen't forget to include the one ingredient missing from most music made by "electronica" acts: melody and warmth. "Chromantic" (I really dig MoM's song titles) is a great example of the band's ear for lush melody without sacrificing abstractness. Only on the sparse "1001" does the mood turn somber; with its odd, scratchy trumpet soloing and skittish piano key loop. "Auto Orchestra" opens the music with an abstract cut-&-paste sound collage. "Owai" is the CD's only hyber/bouncy track. The rest of the tracks further reaffirms MoM's genius. The funny-looking cartoon characters found on the packaging is a great visual compliment to the music.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars classic electronics, October 6, 2004

By	Enrique Fernandez (miami FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this cd defies categorization.its one part dub,one part ambient,and another techno.mix them together and you have perfect ear candy.put on some headphones and prepare to get lost.and yes the album cover art is a great companion.i love this cd.