art pop meets mongolian throat singing, blade runner meets walter carlos (clockwork orange), tom dissevelt and kid baltan (bowie’s favourite band) meet tame impala. the fifth album from marsmobil has been hailed by many as their best yet. with closer ties to “minx” (2006) than the last two albums, “fairytales of the supersurvivor” returns to marsmobil’s signature strength of wondrously brilliant songs (“and the fishes in the ocean”, “shadows of the inner light”) that blend off-the-wall cinemascope sounds with dazzling beats and punchy, powerful hooks to create uniquely distinctive art pop anthems. as always with marsmobil, roberto di gioia writes, plays, sings and programs everything himself. here, as on “minx”, he’s brought in support from a fabulous singer – the very wonderful amber lin, who contributes vocals on four songs. all the cover illustrations are also by di gioia.