Mistletone proudly presents John Maus, bringing his wide-screen alternate reality to the Factory Theatre with special guests, Purple Pilgrims (NZ). tickets on sale now!

One of the most enigmatic figures in music today, John Maus is a man out of time. Cinematic in scope and underscored by a deadpan streak of absurdist humour, his five defining albums have quickly carved out a unique position at the intersection of power pop, punk rock and pure pathos. His driving synth pop conjures hazy anthems of the past while glimmering with hints of tomorrow.

Maus’ propulsive bass-lines and cascading arpeggios create a constant sense of momentum but his careful mastery of production gives each of his original songs a frosted, nostalgic air – dreams of a hopeful future as found in a dusty thrift store. His signature style has seen him develop a cult following the world over, while leaving critics bewildered and grappling to comprehend where his sonic experiments might lead next. Perhaps that’s what you get when a former philosophy teacher at the University of Hawaii with a PhD in political science does a career U-turn and turns his hand to music. One thing is certain: there’s no one else like John Maus.

"John Maus is a maniac on a bloody crusade; a tortured evangelist on a mercenary quest to rid our world of villainous defilers of The Gospel of True Love. By turns shockingly infectious and disarmingly unpredictable, his music conflates a perplexing marriage of Moroder’s ‘Never Ending Story’ and classical 12-tone renegades of 20th century past, harking THE NEW path which resurrects romance from its post-modern shackles, and reignites the promise of a better world" – ARIEL PINK

“John Maus crafts brittle electro-pop with absurdly baroque keyboard flourishes, that sounds like the mid-point between a rave and a church organ recital. Althought it is musically very different from Ariel Pink’s songs, the “feel” of the two is very similar: like Ariel Pink, John Maus’ music comes across like a flickering, over-exposed home-video from the 1980s. It’s intensely personal and often beautiful music, the sound of memories and daydreams” – SIMON HAMPSON (FACT MAGAZINE)