John Maus: We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (180g) Vinyl LP John Maus

Probably the most listened-to album on the Lab office stereo in recent memory. We’ve been harassing our downstairs neighbors at Domino about this repress for over a year. Bossman P.H. even has a copy in his office he says is his ‘lucky record’. From the arpeggio that opens “Streetlight,” you know off top this is gonna be something special. According to Maus, We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves is shorthand for “the idea that we should work to give ourselves, so that we’re truly giving something else than what already was. Because what already is, babies on fire and shit like that, whole continents dying of disease and everything that we all know, when we all know it’s bad. So maybe if we want something different from that it’s something we need to struggle pitilessly for, as opposed to consuming, communicating, and enjoying.” If this line of thought’s too esoteric for you, the album is full more straightforward bars to snack on like “let’s kill the cops tonight,” “keep pushing on” and “pussy is not a matter of fact,” with a nice lighthouse on the cover to stare at. The rendition of Molly Nilsson’s “Hey Moon” is currently Maus’ most-listened to song on Spotify by a mile, but slotted next to intoxicating songs like “Cop Killer,” “Quantum Leap,” “And The Rain,” “We Can Breakthrough” and “Believer,” it’s almost worth skipping entirely. Maus made Pitiless Censors while working on a PhD in political philosophy at the University of Hawaii, and it’s a departure from what he calls “the lo-fi ineptness” of his first two albums; the search for the perfect pop song. He’s an academic first and foremost, a decorated one at that, and has said that he can’t envision a future for himself in music… but when the Simmons toms and falsetto vocals hit on the bridge of “And The Rain,” you can’t help but be blown away by the fact that someone who is so clearly on this Earth for the sole purpose of making music could be so adept at anything else. Recommended.

• 180g vinyl pressing
• poly-lined inner sleeve
• digital download included
• limited edition
• music label: Ribbon Music 2018

reviewed by yung pilot astray 07/2018