Album: Mugison, Mugiboogie (Mugiboogie)

For his third album, Icelandic maverick Mugison has abandoned the laptop troubadour approach of previous releases for an all-out assault on retro-rock authenticity.

The stodgy organ rock-a-boogie of “To The Bone” and the introductory “Mugiboogie” are interspersed with quieter ruminations such as the Will Oldham-esque “The Great Unrest” and the harrowing “Deep Breathing”, a response to his mother’s illness that features a string arrangement that recalls Nick Drake.

This is an album that vacillates wildly between extremes of emotion – from the reflective mood of the country-blues-styled “The Pathetic Anthem” to the Napalm Death-like growl of “I’m Alright”. It’s an intense, almost schizoid, experience, impressive in its own way, but not one I’d like to repeat too soon.