by Denise Sullivan
For a band that's only been together a short time, space rockers Mushroom are certainly prolific! On its sixth release, the instrumental band mine the depths of Krautrock while pushing the envelope of electronica by using vintage musical equipment in place of state-of-the-art computerized gadgets. "The Magic of Michael" and "October 1970" are trance-missions while "Rackets" hovers more in King Crimson territory thanks to guitarist Dan Olmstead's own brand of "Frippertronics" (the man-made electronic sounds give the song an absolutely contemporary edge). And there seem to be no shortage of clever titles in the 'shroom's bag of tricks: "Our buddy Miles" riffs on keyboards and funk, while "A song of remembrance for a time when wife swapping was considered politically correct" is all about the feedback.