Mouse on Mars prove experts of "collage" rock

Mouse On Mars' eighth and most recent record, Radical Connector (Thrill Jockey), transcends the realm of blandly categorized electronica by blending electronic and handmade music into delightfully happy splotches of sound. German natives Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, the minds behind the music, are celebrating their 10th year as a creative duo that always seems to be ahead of the music curve.

Radical Connector is a CD of charming aural contradictions. For instance, right in the middle of the dance-tronic track "Mine Is Yours," listeners get a surprise visit from a poppy-sounding guitar. The vocals on "Send Me Shivers" are hum-able hours after the song is through. "Wipe That Sound," the most danceable track on the album, is reminiscent of "Goodies" by Ciara. The weird backwards robotic sound of "Blood Comes" sounds a little like Vanity 6. How can all of this be achieved on one nine-song album?

"Our writing is destructive and constructive. We build the tracks, rip them into pieces, and put them back together," St. Werner said. "To understand how things work, take them apart. Follow the structure of the sound."

It is glamorous yet simplistic. It is mismatched but coordinated. It is mathematical, personal and philosophical without being too deliberate. Radical Connector is absent of the kind of looping that is so often found on dance albums, so it is not repetitive. It is, however, mesmerizing.

"We just collect ideas and mesh them up," said St. Werner. "At the end, there's always a song that's as accessible as it is complex."

Mouse On Mars are similar to other mathematical weirdo bands - Marumari, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher and Plaid, just to name a few. As mainstream music becomes less and less interesting and, as St. Werner believes, based more and more on images and trends, it is exciting to know that bands like these are still making intelligent records.

Mouse on Mars are currently enjoying their tour in North America, which they find, in their own words, "Convenient yet brutal ... America is 'go go go!' so much that people lose track." St. Werner feels that America is "in danger ... it is threatened from the inside. As Europeans, we feel that democracy in America is being treated oddly. What's going on politically seems a bit strange."

And, since he brought up the 'hot topic' of the moment (no, not the Red Sox), "Politics has been taken over by corporate ideas," St. Werner said. "I watched the debates, and it was like two men selling washing machines. One man is saying, 'Buy my washing machine and I'll give you a cupboard of clothes.' And the other man is saying, 'If you buy my washing machine, I'll give you a refrigerator.' There are high expectations of Kerry, but after watching the debates it's like, 'Oh, God. He's also selling something.' It's disappointing, really, because America is about freedom, not restriction. America has so much to offer.

"But you know," St. Warner said after a generous pause, "a person notices changes in the world, but he doesn't notice how fast things change or don't change. In the end, things don't really change at all."