In a review that reads largely like a preview for the upcoming Volcano Choir album, Pitchfork's Grayson Currin gave a strong 8.0 to Milwaukee drummer Jon Mueller's Physical Changes, writing that its a rare experimental album with potential mass appeal.
"It feels condescending to suggest that Physical Changes won't readily appeal to fans of Bon Iver or Volcano Choir," Currin writes. "Strangely, it feels vaguely incorrect, too: Though Mueller's music is often chaotic and distorted (perhaps to the point of being indiscernible from one moment to the next), it is the product of singular vision and steadfast will. Its focus transcends mere sound, so-- for those who seek no apology in their music-- there's the potential for broader appeal. What's more, Mueller pulls a few collaborators and, to an extent, his audience into the tide of his own ideas. In this way, Physical Changes is not altogether unlike a James Blackshaw record, where friends help the young English guitarist lift his mesmerizing guitar takes into bigger, better songs."