Mugison – Mugiboogie

Mugison is Icelandic born singer songwriter and all round blues powerhouse Örn Elías Guðmundsson. Yes, not exactly a blues name is it. But trust me this man has blues running through his veins. The name Mugison was a childhood nickname and literally means son of Mugi, who is his father. There's something about Malaysians who couldn't pronounce his fathers name properly, or something. Sounds more Japanese though doesn't it, like the second prodigy of Mr Miyagi. Anyways, Mugison was born, literally.On his previous two albums Mugison has played solo; him, a guitar, and a laptop. But this time round he's decided to go for a real life human drummer and a bass player, also human. He is every bit the classic songwriter and has elements of The Blues Brothers (yes, lame reference, but he actually wails like those guys did! Or the guy from The Comittments), check out 'Jesus is a Good Name To Moan' which is every inch a religious vilification, and 'Sweetest Melody'. There's a bit of Lennon on, ahem, the song 'George Harrison'. You just can't ignore his energy, he is infectious, and his bare bones, one man guitar blues is where he really shines. 'Deep Breathing' bridges the gap from lonesome traveller blues to cinematic masterpiece, and 'To The Bone' has the country longing of Dick Burnett's 'Man of Constant Sorrow'.But this record is being released on Ipecac! So there must be some disturbing, schizoid twist. Yes, there is indeed. The quite fantastically monstrous 'I'm Alright' would be the perfect soundtrack to a murder circus. I knew there was a reason Patton and co have an interest in this guy. Whilst he has the gift of classic songwriting, he has an alter-schizophrenic side that breeds songs like 'I'm Alright' and 'The Animal', which blur the line between comedic and tragic, the lines that Ween so often cross. He can be sweet, sensual and loving, and simultaneously monstrous and venomous.This guy is definitely one of the more interesting musical personalities. His hammer horror metal 'Two Thumb Sucking Son of a Boyo' is yet another treat, so much icing on this cake. 'The Great Unrest' is yet again a superbly crafted classic.I guess if this album was a cake it'd be blueberry”¦ with nails in it; dangerous but irresistible! 80%Links Mugison [official site] [myspace]