Artist.......: John Maus
Album........: Love Is Real
Label........: n/a
Genre........: Indie
Catnr........: n/a
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Dec-13-2007
str.date.....: 000-00-0000
quality......: VBR/44.1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: n/a
track title time
01. heaven is real 04:16
02. do your best 02:47
03. rights for gays 02:38
04. love letters from hell 02:59
05. the silent chorus 05:00
06. navy seals 02:17
07. pure rockets 03:22
08. my whole world is coming apart 03:43
09. don't worship the devil 03:44
10. tenebrae 05:19
11. too much money 03:24
12. green bouzard 01:00
13. old town 02:00
14. times is weird 03:42
Runtime 46:11 min
Size 64,9 MB
Release Notes:
John Maus lives and works in Austin, Minnesota.
Although first drawn to our attention as a core
member of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and
keyboard player with Animal Collective's Panda
Bear, Maus has proved himself to be an
extraordinary musician with a distinctive sound in
his own right.
Perhaps co-conspirator and collaborator Ariel Pink
perhaps has the definitive insight into the talents
of the man:
"John Maus is a maniac on a bloody crusade; a
tortured evangelist on a mercenary quest to rid our
world of villainous defilers of The Gospel of True
Love. By turns shockingly infectious and
disarmingly unpredictable, his music conflates a
perplexing marriage of Moroder's 'Never Ending
Story' and classical 12-tone renegades of 20th
century past, harking THE NEW path which resurrects
romance from its post-modern shackles, and
reignites the promise of a better world."
'Love Is Real'
Second album 'Love Is Real' is an apocalyptic
journey through the nostalgic streets of our home
towns deep into the recesses of the human heart. It
is a map of self discovery, rejection and escapism
captured across 14 songs of melancholic baroque pop
music. Similar in style to his 2006 debut 'Songs',
the album is a mixture of exploratory synthesiser
theatrics, tensely-strung bass lines and insistent
drum machine clicks and pops, all set off by John's
deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. 'Love Is
Real' is a more reflective and realised effort than
'Songs' however, focusing its attentions on
impulsive song writing and inspired musicianship,
replacing the reminiscent feel of the first record
with genuine poignancy.
'Love Is Real' is an album of contrast, of
obscurity and familiarity, of darkness and light.
Moments of intense disco anxiety warning against
the sin of avarice - "Too Much Money" - find
themselves rubbing shoulders with romantic virtuoso
fugues - "Green Bouzard". The juxtaposition of the
buoyant 80's synth pop alongside John's sombre,
sometimes even morose lyrics is another good
example of this tension. "Without you girl, I'm
going over the edge" Maus sings over the
four-to-the-floor dance rhythm of the album's
prescient closer 'Times Is Weird'. Over the
fantastical keyboard gymnastics of 'The Whole
World's Coming Apart' John finds relief in
repeatedly confessing "This is my nightmare, my
nightmare". It's contrasts like these which point
towards John's preoccupation on this album with
confused emotions and misunderstood intentions.
Whilst 'Love Is Real' maintains the same anthemic
genius and sense of humour that it's predecessor
revelled in - the impassioned 'Rights for Gays'
being perhaps the most neurotic example - this
album finds its strength in its more delicate and
revealing moments. The superbly mournful 'Do Your
Best' is an elegiac paean to true love - "Reach out
your hands to the one alone, in the city tonight"
croons Maus to baritone abandon, sounding like a
man resisting his own best advice. Similarly
'Tenebrae', the album's tour de force, follows the
grand tradition of many classical composers who
have tried to convey the suffering, 'great noise'
and joy of the Holy Week in music over the last 300
years. It is a stately and majestic song which
soars and pulses into inevitable splendour becoming
the focal point of this remarkable album.
'Love Is Real' is a record about facing the demons
within, searching through eternity and finding hope
in the darkness of these uncertain times. It's
about never giving up and holding out for the one
you love. Put simply it can only be an album by
John Maus.
'Songs'
'Songs' is Maus' debut, his life work, which was
written and recorded at home over the last five
years. It's a twisted baroque pop record that
brings to mind early 80's hits and coming-of-age
movie soundtracks. Almost entirely electronic, the
Maus sound is created from synthesisers, drum
machine, bass and his remarkable vocals, which are
pitched somewhere between Ian Curtis, Calvin
Johnson and David Bowie.
The record is a manic lo-fi masterpiece, which
blurs addictive melodies, emotive lyrics and dreamy
soundscapes to memorable effect. Permeated by
feelings of intense nostalgia, with this album Maus
has created a testimony to lost romance and to
longing. These combine in such a way to make the
listener feel as through they have stumbled across
a lost classic. Ambitious in his musical and
thematic scope, Maus touches upon timeless subjects
such as the conflict between the mind and body,
unrequited love, death and eternity.