Experimental synth pop artist John Maus is making his way to San Francisco following his performance at the FYF Festival in September. Maus recently released A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material, complementing last year’s successful release of We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves.

Rather than a collection of throwaway B-sides, the compilation plays more like a retrospective of forgotten gloomy pop gems. In a lengthy letter to Ad Hoc, John Maus gave some background on the rarities collection, among other topics.

The cryptic, often misunderstood DIY star is sure to be divisively entertaining, and it will be interesting to see whether his performance translates better through the festival crowd, or at the more intimate space of The Independent in San Francisco where he will be performing on September 3. I Break Horses is no longer on the bill.

John Maus
The Independent
September 3, 2012
9pm, $13