Short Reviews [Munch - 1990 - "Excessive Mobility"]

Munch were an experimental outfit who released this their second ‘proper’ album (in between this and the debut they released a limited run of improvisations) in 1990. The album and band have gained a huge status since they broke up in 1991 and this 2021 release has been taken from a vinyl copy and then remastered, all financed by fans who wanted to have this readily available (although it is still a limited edition). When Munch started in 1986, they had little in terms of standard musical expertise, but that was not important and was even thought of as being an asset as they never knew where the music was going to take them. Listening to it more than 30 years after it was recorded one can very much hear influences of the time (notably Talking Heads), but there are also elements of Art Zoyd, Can, Public Image Limited plus Canterbury style prog. The vocals are atonal and at odds with the accompaniment, which often contains repeated motifs, and while it is never mainstream there is something about it which is strangely compelling. This is not something which will be enjoyed by all progheads, but the eccentricity within is fascinating and I am convinced the only reason they are not more well known is the combination of being from Norway, having very limited availability of their music, and having the misfortune of being active at possibly the very worse time to be in a band pushing the boundaries. The crowdfunding campaign for this was successful in making their music available once again, and I for one am very glad indeed that I came across it.