Maus Haus- Reaction

Downloadable • Thursday December 18th, 2008 • 4:39 pm

As we approach the arbitrary division that differentiates between 2008 and 2009, many of us are looking over “best of” lists and evaluating the past year’s musical offerings, attempting to answer the age old question, “was this year better than last year”? 2008 saw many neophytes break into their own musical lime light, and as a result, audiences around the country have been exposed to a plethora of new aural stylings. Genres are blurred, making it difficult to differentiate between afro-beat and roots music revival; Myspace is competing with major record labels, rapidly asserting itself as a credible music source; and video game sound-cards have replaced the drum machine as the dominant mode of musical expression. Now, where does Maus Haus fit into this rapidly fluctuating musical geography? Well, apart from encompassing many of the new sonic trends that were witnessed in ‘08, Maus Haus are comfortable challenging any attempt to pigeon-hole their unique brand of schizophrenic, Kraut-rock inspired, indie mayhem. “Reaction” comes across as just that, a reaction to the world which surrounds us all, combining aggressive percussion, distorted vocals, and addictive syncopation, elements which combine to form some of the most pleasing white noise I have come across in a long time. With music like this leading the way, perhaps we can look forward to something other than guitar rock for the majority of 2009!

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Tagged as: Noise pop, San Francisco