Pitchfork

"Now the premise of this album is very, very simple. What's that? To listen to messages of soul with a solid beat, make you move your feet. Now the premise of the album is to find a passing spaceship and get rescued by it. Oh, come on. Now the premise of this album is, well, the dance, actually, dance business. The highest definition ever achieved in recording. I'll even tell you what two of the secret ingredients are: pure electronic modern electronics. That'll make 'em happy! Oh, look at 'em, they want to get up and dance! Let's have a party, we gonna go swinging! I'm gon' fuck the whole world up! Hahahaha, I'm so full of ideas, and here's a good one!"

If that were a quotation from one person, you might well think that they were a raving lunatic or schizophrenic. "Those," you would probably say, "are the ravings of a lunatic schizophrenic!" Well, the above quotation can be found in "The Premise," the slick introductory track on Wagon Christ's fourth album, Musipal. And although it's culled from all sorts of different sampled spoken voices, it feels as if it's been transferred from the personal schizo thoughts of mastermind Luke Vibert to his flexible fingers. I can't vouch for his sanity or any lack thereof, but the man is pretty full of ideas, and I'll be goddamned if the ones found on Musipal aren't good ones.

Vibert hasn't created an incredibly innovative record, by any means. References can be made from the smooth and dirty grooves of DJ Shadow and UNKLE to the jungle agitation of Squarepusher to full-on dementia, either giddy (Kid Koala) or sinister (Aphex Twin). But Musipal is so stocked with variety and, moreover, actual fleshed-out substance, that it manages to bypass the simple "wacky" status of Vibert's previous release as Wagon Christ, 1998's Tally Ho! This record has moods-- some unnerving, some smooth, dark, mechanical, choppy, bouncy, funky, soulful, and even back to wacky, occasionally, all whenever Vibert sees fit. And each of these elements help create the perfected Wagon Christ formula: an unpredictable mixed bag that comes out even, regardless of how many contents are shifted.

Musipal has more than a couple standout tracks, but out of those, its holy trinity comes during its first half. "Natural Suction" is Vibert's only full-on journey into jungle and drum 'n' bass beats this time out, and pad synths and strings complement the jittery grooves nicely. The title track follows, flowing modestly and effortlessly with the inclusion of a shuffling hip-hop beat, squawking horns, and a duet of bluesy lead guitar and whistling.

Up to this point, Musipal would be perfect for your next social occasion. That is, until the unsettling and dark beats of "It is Always Now, All of It is Now" come in. Despite it being the album's obvious highlight, it's probably a bit too paranoid for the houseguests. Dark synths and orchestra hits punch through the ranting of a madman-- possibly Vibert himself-- whispering and mumbling through a distortion filter and squealing feedback.

There are plenty of flavors for anyone on Musipal, although the record as a whole may be too diverse for some, if that's possible. In my book, diversity is a plus. If there's one thing Luke Vibert can do well, it's everything at once. He seems to mock himself by starting his album with a track called "The Premise" and then never fully being able to explain it. It may be that he'll never decide on a certain premise, or idea, or concept; consequently, he'll probably never cover the same ground quite the same way twice. And the schizophrenia and variance that is Wagon Christ has finally controlled itself just enough to avoid sounding piecemeal. Musipal is, as of now, the quintessential Wagon Christ record, and its only preconceived purpose is one of simply letting you have fun while trying your damnedest to find one.