A lot of elements stand at odds with each other on this debut album by English four-piece Mushi Mushi. For starters, the band is largely instrumental but includes a few tracks with prominent singing. On ‘Insert Name Where Applicable’, Catherine Stephens lends a voice that’s flighty here and snarling there, harmonising with itself in the process. Meanwhile, guitarist/bassist Brian Wilkinson barks through distortion on ‘Attention Deficit Disco’. Unfortunately, such outsized voices only increase the cheesiness of already over-the-top songs like ‘Copycat Cowboy’ and the closing ‘Burn That Tortoise’.
In general too, Mushi Mushi veers all over the place. Many songs are gurgling, noisy, and gritty, yet sleek and melodic as well. It’s like after-hours post-rock meets overblown electro-rock, recalling Trans Am as much as the Chemical Brothers. ‘The Dietary Habits of the Byker Pigeon’ could accompany the credits to a tech-savvy spy flick, and really, much of Sequins Save Lives feels like lost theme music. But the band has a habit of getting in its own way, whether with distracting song titles or jarring vocals. The players are good at versatile instrumental music that has one foot in electronics and one in rock: they should pursue that and see where it takes them.
Doug Wallen
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