Mutation was originally started when Ginger Wildheart got the itch to make some heavier, more extreme music than he is normally known for making with his other bands. Soon, the list of collaborators grew, with Napalm Death‘s bassist (and man of a hundred bands) Shane Embury and the Cardiacs’ Jon Poole forming the core of this collective, which also features a number of other contributors, including The Fall’s Mark E. Smith, who lends his angry pipes to a few tracks, and Japanese noise god Merzbow.

At first, this might seem like a very strange list of people to play on one album, but after giving it a few listens, it makes perfect sense, because this album is one strange, exciting beast. More cooks don’t spoil the broth — in this case, they just add to its flavor. Though it’s an acquired taste, it’s one that satisfies.

It should be noted that Ginger’s mastery of a pop hook is still evident, even when the band is raging in full-on grind mode. The songs move in all manner of ways, but the center most definitely holds, and this is very cohesive and powerful sounding.

It’s also very twisted, but would you expect anything less?

Opener “Bracken” starts with a blast of noise and melody before throwing in a strange, oddly catchy chorus before going for broke with some blasting hardcore and shred guitar. “Utopia Syndrome” alternates between bouncy New Wave sounds and blasts of vicious noise. “Protein” features some scraping industrial sounds combined with big riffs and clanging drums, while “Mutations” achieves a weird death/disco hybrid with bursts of distortion and dance-like beats.

“White Leg” splits the difference between screaming hardcore and sunny ’70s pop rock. “Innocentes In Mortes” features a pissed off vocal turn from Smith and is in parts noisy, dreamy, and catchy. “Benzo Fury” ends the album on a furious note.

This album is an exciting listen and will slowly worm its way into your consciousness if you give it a chance. If you like loud rock that comes way from left field, you’ll love this. Hopefully, this gets a chance to reach a larger audience, because people sometimes need their expectations and musical world upended from time to time.

(Ipecac Recordings, PO Box 1778 Orinda, CA 94563)