Mugison

It’s official. The cloistered Icelandic experimentalist has now joined the streetwise, inner-city punk and the suburban, four-track fumbler as a major resource for modern music. Ornelius Mugison makes oddball, motley tunes that sound like much of what’s come out of Iceland over the past ten years, which is to say, unique. From the fractured beats of "One Day She’ll Park the Car” to the Tom Waits-in-hellishness of "I’m on Fire,” Mugison manages to mix skittish stylistic turns and lolloping atmospherics into a quality, yet somewhat desultory album. You could say that this makes for a diverse listening experience, but some meandering tracks, like "Pet” — possibly the first attempt at Icelandic dub — leave you begging for a little more cohesion. Not quite amazing, but utterly fascinating.