Over the last few years, Durban has become an incubator for some of the best garage bands in the country. Black Math was one of the first bands to lead the charge but a number of magnificent noisemakers like Hated Related, Hadeda, Taekwondo Sleepover and Mouse, have come out of their wake. While many bands coming out of Durban may have started their careers in Black Math’s shadow; Mouse have really come into their own and with the release of their second album, Reverse: Universe— they’ve made it unmistakable clear that they’re a force to be reckoned with and pioneers in their own right.
Reverse: Universe album cover art by Anatis
The album starts off spaced out with the aptly named “Red Space”. It’s a slow and methodical build into the chaos that you know will soon ensue. Things then get surfy and screechy with “Invader” before breaking into the fuzz that Mouse is typically known for. “Electric Face” means business off the bat with a riff that reeks of bad attitude. “Worm Wood” is a 6 minute monster of a journey. “Palindrome” feels like the soundtrack to an industrial sci-fi flick; imagine Bladerunner was set in Detroit, kinda thing. “Invisible Legs” starts off with a thrash metal vibe to it that wouldn’t be out of place in the 80s before kicking into their 70s psychedelia and then just breaking into a whole mess of sounds that honestly run the gamut from Pink Floyd to Rage Against The Machine. When you listen to it, you’ll get what I mean. At Least I hope. They don’t take their foot off the gas with “Pulsar” before closing the album with “Into Dust” which has a bit of a Black Sabbath feel about it, before descending into a furious racket.
It’s quite a lot to take in and it’s always good to remind yourself when listening to Mouse that there are only two of them making all that noise. The guitar layering stands out because it’s meant to, however, play close attention to the drums that do more than just keep time. The two of them keep fucking with things to a point that you just get lost in the discordance. They get a bit tricky with things from time-to-time and sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn’t, but I do appreciate that the entire thing is full of creative touches. Mouse keep pushing themselves to their limits and Reverse: Universe is the pinnacle of their endeavours so far.
