MaoTzu - Smörgåsbord (2013)

MaoTzu as some of you make recall is the moniker of one Jamarcus Drake for his experimental electronic music. I laid some good praise on his 2011 full-length, Doodles, which I still stand by. With Smörgåsbord we're getting a to check out even more of his strange stylings of tunes, albeit in a rather hodgepodge manner that is unavoidable when collecting b-sides and unreleased tracks together. If you can manage to bit them off in short, delectable sections the songs are pretty righteous, or if you're a less finicky sort of listener you can ride the shifting tone and moods like a wild wave. Many of them are heavily in the video game music camp, and that's wonderful thing when well executed such as MaoTzu always is. It's easy to find some favorites and find yourself repeated playing them as part of your routines, at least as much is true for me with "SurfDateWithTheWaterGoddessAndHerBrotherWhoHatesMe" and "Haunted Beach." Hopefully you'll figure out some for yourself.

To be had here:

MaoTzu - Smörgåsbord

MaoTzu - Doodles (2011)

This album is about a pleasant as any I've ever received. MaoTzu is the solo work of member of Forestcousin, whose demo single I posted a little while ago. This is a different sort of music though, one that incorporates nostalgic elements, washed out vocals, and pop-music hooks. Borrows from 8-bit, twee pop and experimental styles nearly equally. The result is that sort of an attractive blend that praised Nate Henricks and Pill Wonder for. MaoTzu is another artist that works in those lo-fi genres I so very fondly enjoy, certainly bearing influence from 90s psych-pop, and does so in a unique style. Perhaps what makes this album stand out is the great difference in the mood expressed on the various tracks, from dreamy and mild to loud and frenzied. There's a drum solo on "Red, Dead, Duck, Goose!" that's the bee's knees. The next track "Life Is Food" is one of my most oddly catchy songs I've heard in some time. I could go on, but instead I'll say that MaoTzu has really charmed me thoroughly with Doodles.

To be had here:
MaoTzu - Doodles