Mouse on Mars have been around for awhile now, producing a sequence of albums that have very little to do with each other. 2000's "Niun Niggung", for instance, was an organic affair, with acoustic instruments complementing the more electronic aspects of the music, while the follow-up, 2001's "Idiology" was an abrupt about-face, featuring beats and sounds that were so harsh and artificial that it was hard to believe that the music was produced by the same actual group. "Radical Connector"'s only similarity to previous Mouse on Mars albums is that it's totally different to the one that came before it.

While previous Mouse on Mars albums often veered into inaccessible experimental ramblings, that were as brilliant as they were off-putting for the uninitiated, this album actually strips things back and presents a batch of songs that isn't too threatening or scary for new listeners. It's not pop music, exactly, but it's certainly music that's been made with casual listeners in mind. Taking such a course can be quite dangerous, because you risk alienating your cult fans in your chase for new listeners. Unfortunately, this is something which affects "Radical Connector" to a degree, although the music is still good enough that it should find the group a few new converts.

Putting aside the atrocious cover-art for a second, which looks like what would result if you let a ten year old loose with some rendering software for half an hour, the album plays in a fairly solid, if unspectacular fashion. It opens well, with Mine Is In Yours, a piece that bounces along with a strong beat to an energetic peak at the end of the song. Unfortunately, from here, it's mostly downhill, with a succession of songs that are competent enough, but not really special in any particular way. Wipe That Sound attempts to add some catchy vocals from percussionist Dodo Nkishi into the mix, but the result sounds more like cheese than dance music. Tracks like Spaceship even cross the line from being average to being monotonous, with a dull beat structure and a clumsy lyrical metaphor dragging things down.

This album isn't anything terrible, but it's not as good as previous albums from these guys. It just seems like they've abandoned too much of the unpredictability that made their previous albums so much fun, and they've started catering to the lowest common denominator in some places. This is still intelligent dance music, but it's maybe not as intelligent as it used to be.