No, it's not a typo...
Mewgatz (apparently named after a child's mispronunciation of "music") is all about Ed McGregor and the art of circuit-bending.
Circuit-bending involves ripping the guts out of an electronic device that's supposed to make a noise e.g. a keyboard, a talking Barbie doll or a 'Mr T in Your Pocket' and...well...bending it about a bit to create crazy sounds. If you think this practice sounds immature, you're right. But like most things that are a little bit stupid e.g. crossing busy roads without looking; leaving a black sock in your flat-mate's whites wash or punching dwarves, it's also great fun.
If the art of circuit-bending suggests that only cold and remote offerings that have little or no soul get produced, you're wrong. The weird, ethereal bleepings and buzzings are the icing on a solid and immeasurably dense cake (I'm thinking a Dundee cake here but feel free to choose your own - as long as it doesn't have marzipan in it) and underneath the frosty snowflake crust is a merry and fruity melange of delicate guitars and softly spoken vocals. Imagine listening to an acoustic Death Cab for Cutie or The Postal Service album whilst playing Sonic the Hedgehog at the same time and you'll get what I mean.
Although only six songs long, there's no killer standout track on this disk (it is a mini-album after all) but that's not a problem. 'Underfelt' isn't designed that way: it meanders, it wanders, it detours, it hops, it skips and it jumps - in many ways it's more of a concept mini-album.
'Underfelt' is also an emotive piece of work. McGregor's soft and unfettered vocals glide gently through each track; sometimes drenched in fuzzy vocoded feedback; sometimes unadorned but always interesting and always raw. Lyrically McGregor tackles friendships, break-ups, romantic interludes - your typical low-fi indie fare - but it's made all the more poignant by the juxtaposition of the electronica.
Mewgatz has crafted an album perfect for rainy and sunny days alike i.e. 'Underfelt' deserves to be the sound of the summer. I bet no one gets to hear it - and that's a shame because the insane intro on 'Arm Control' is a belter that every discerning muso should experience at least once.