Review: Mugstar - Collapsar (Skull Scorchers and Neuron Phasers - Singles & Rarities).

What can one say about Mugstar? Those leviathans of psych and mighty behemoths of kraut have been gracing our turntables for nigh on fifteen years and have pretty much become elder statesmen of the UK scene. If ever a band were to be tagged with the epithet 'legends' then Mugstar are that band. One of the very last bands to record a Peel Session after catching the great man's ear with their first single 'Spotlight Over Memphis', they have gone from strength to strength in the intervening years culminating (thus far) in last year's magnificent 'Magnetic Seasons'. They remain the one live band who are guaranteed to leave me slack-jawed and dumbstruck at their sheer power and seismic strength......no 'showbiz' gimmicks or showmanship..just a bunch a guys who get on and play music powerful enough to tear a hole in the time/space continuum. There is a reason for this panegyric eulogising (not that I need an excuse) and that reason is 'Collapsar', a mighty double album that traces the Mugstar journey from the early singles to where they are now...and what a journey it has been! Evil Hoodoo (a label that for whom perfection is less an ideal and more a prerequisite) bring us this exemplary collection of 'Singles & Rarities'...early singles, unreleased tracks, live favourites and alternate takes on album tracks... and never has an album's subtitle been more apt....Skull Scorchers and Neuron Phasers indeed!

The collection kicks off with the 2007 7" 'Bethany Heart Star', an absolute monster of a track, all krautrock rhythms and scorching guitars, one of those sort of tracks that make you feel good to be alive and this joie de vivre is only heightened by the following 'My Baby Skull Has Not Yet Flowered' 7", a slow burning kraut number that builds and builds until it reaches critical mass, the point where all one can say is "fuck yeah!"...a neat encapsulation of the Mugstar live experience. The pummeling, repetition based psych of 'Red Shift' is followed by 'Man With Supersight' with its tinge of surf and Pavementesque guitars. 'Spotlight Over Memphis' is the band's first ever 7" single and an obvious point of interest to anyone who has never heard it...and what a fuckin' debut! A hi-octane psych juggernaut complete with spacey synths and 100mph guitars...it easy to see how it caught Peel's eyes (ears!) Next up is 'Blue Shift', a companion piece to the earlier 'Red Shift' (sharing the same 7" in 2010), a more experimental outing with discordant electronica and stabs of guitar. 'Trone' is all tribalistic drums that accompany guitars that display a real post-rock bluster while 'Technical Knowledge As A Weapon' ( a 7" from 2009 and appeared on the '...Sun, Broken...' album) is one of my favourite ever Mugstar tracks, laden with muscular krautrock goodness and daubed generously with swathes of synth..awesome! Next up is 'Flavin HotRod' (the second 7" from 2004)...another 'fuck yeah!' moment....channeling a dragstrip twang into a track of sheer visceral fury that is just sheer exhilaration. 'I Got The Six' takes the fury from 'Flavin...' and drops into a psychedelic monster, taking the heavy psych of the seventies and warping into something heavier, faster and scarier. 'Object' (from the almost mythical 'Trail' CD) sees another side to the band, taking the lo-fi 'stop/start' structure and transposing into a track with more impassioned vocals and coruscating guitar...it sounds like what it is, an early incarnation of a band that has yet to fully immerse itself in the murky world of psych. 'DikSik' sees a return to the heavy post-rock structure while 'Tam Lin' is a real curiosity, a cover of the Fairpoint Convention track. The vocals are 'clean' and there are flashes of the original's folky roots amongst the barrage of guitar and drums...A real surprise in the package, and a very pleasant one that showcases the musical dexterity of the band. 'Mascon' is another cut from 'Trail' and is a lovely slice of post-rock with some nice changes in intensity....the band obviously had musical nous right from the get-go. Although 'Floatation Tank' is from the same era it has all the elements that make Mugstar as special as they are...the same building of intensity, the same solid wall of noise and the same ability to completely mesmerise the listener. This superb collection is closed with 'Bardo Head Finder' (from the 'Travel Expop Series #2 : Great Britain' compilation) and it is fantastic...classic Mugstar with guitars that crash out of the speakers and a motorik rhythm that just does not stop....as ever the intensity builds and by the end leaves you quite breathless...heavenly!

I've always been a bit 'meh' about collections and compilations of a single band but 'Collapsar' is no 'Greatest Hits' callously compiled for the christmas market...it is an exhilarating document that traces the interplanetary journey of one of the very best bands out there. It goes without saying that the music is fantastic, it was always gonna be but what is fascinating is hearing where they came from with those early singles and tracing the upward trajectory to where they are now, the early tracks show the inherent, raw talent which has blossomed over the years. For anyone who only know Mugstar from recent albums or only know them as a live entity.....actually, no, fuck it...for absolutely everyone, I would say, this is a pretty much essential album. 'Collapsar' should be on everybody's Christmas list this year...head over to the Evil Hoodoo webshop to pre-order now before the December 15th release date.