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The first thing I noticed is that almost every piece is wall-to-wall sound. On “Nothing Changes,” recorded with cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and analog synth player Jim Schoenecker, and “The Only Constant Thing Is Change,” made with local experimental icon Dan Burke (Illusion of Safety), Mueller lays down pummeling blastbeats that eventually start to feel like white noise; some of the other tracks achieve a similar density with hydroplaning cymbal washes and bowed metal (or at least that’s what I think it is–you can never be too certain of the technique when Mueller’s involved).
I’m surely giving the music short shrift because I’ve only listened to it once–I got the set just two days ago!–but it’s as compelling as anything I’ve heard this year. Mueller will present variations on Physical Changes this Saturday at the Hideout, where he’ll be joined by both Lonberg-Holm and Burke.
