Mystical Weapons: "Mystical Weapons" (album review)

What happens when you take two musical elements that I don't really care for and slap them together?  Well you get Mystical Weapons.  The two elements in this case are instrumental music and Deerhoof.  It's a wonder then how the self-titled debut (out January 15th) holds up as well as it does.

The band consists of Deerhoof's Greg Saunier and some kid named Sean Lennon.  Together they make a decent record that would make a fine conversation piece as the soundtrack to your next party.



The album gets underway with "Impossible Shapes", with a sound like forming storm clouds which foreshadow what's brewing on the disc.  The vibrant tapestry of "Colony Collapse Disorder" is underscored by a touch of Shoegazing.  There's a rusty gears and spinning cogs feeling to "Mechanical Mammoth", which leads an air of a Charlie Chaplin film score.

On the two ends of the spectrum you have the back-to-back of "Dirty" and "Goddess Curlers".  The former is a surprisingly sleepy piano number, while the latter is a frenetically scaling clattering rocker.

On a project that is by it's very nature self-indulgent, the messy directionless "Gross Domestic Happiness" takes things a little too far.  The 6-plus minute "Whispers the Blue Tongue" suffers from a similar ailment, as free form keyboard jams draw out a meandering track built around simulated whale calls.

While far from my first choice for listening pleasure, Mystical Weapons proves to be a surprisingly strong and engaging effort.  Plus, with "Gilbert Releases His Pet Salamander Into The Wild", it boasts the year's best song title to date.

Best tracks: "Mechanical Mammoth", "Colony Collapse Disorder"

Track listing for Mystical Weapons:

• Impossible Shapes
• Mechanical Mammoth
• Silk Screen
• Whispers the Blue Tongue
• Dirty
• Goddess Curlers
• Hostile Takeover
• Gilbert Releases His Pet Salamander Into the Wild
• Colony Collapse Disorder
• Distant City
• Dirty Neon
• Gross Domestic Happiness
• Consortium Musicum

6.0/10