Many thanks to all that have supported MUGSTAR throughout the last twelve months. Obviously, we really missed being able to play live shows and meet up in person with friends and bands. But, we did get to release two albums: “Invisible Wind Factory”, recorded live performance with Damo Suzuki – and our latest studio album “Graft”. Thanks to The Weird Beard and Cardinal Fuzz / Centripetal Force labels respectively. Thanks too for the positive reviews for the albums (some of which are posted on the “Reviews” page here on this site) such as the most recent in from The Obelisk below…
BEST WISHES TO ALL FOR 2021!
The Obelisk – Graft album review…
MUGSTAR, GRAFT
“Not that the initial droning wash of “Deep is the Air” or the off-blasted “Zeta Potential” and warp-drive freneticism in “Cato” don’t have their appeal — oh, they do — but when it comes to UK lords-o’-space Mugstar‘s latest holodeck-worthy full-length, GRAFT, it’s the mellow drift-jazz of the 12-minute “Ghost of a Ghost” that feels most like matter dematerialization to me. Side B’s “Low, Slow Horizon” answers back later on ahead of the motorik linear build in the finale “Star Cage,” but the 12-minute vibe-fest that is “Ghost of a Ghost” gives GRAFT a vastness to match its thrust, which becomes essential to the space-borne feel. It’s 41 minutes, still ripe for an LP, but the kind of album that has a genuine affect on mood and mindset, breaking down on a molecular level both and remolding them into something hopefully more evolved on some level through cosmic meditation. Fast or slow, up or down, in or out, it doesn’t ultimately matter. Nothing does. But there’s a moment in GRAFT where the one-skin-on-another thing becomes apparent and all the masks drop away. What’s left after that?”
JJ Koczan (H.P. Taskmaster)