'Heaven is Real': John Maus and the Truth of Pop

John Maus is one of the most intriguing artists in the millennial wave of lo-fi pop, assembling his unique and intimate language from synth pop, disco, baroque classical and church music. Yet Maus’s work is much more than another exercise in retroist hybridity, and his overtures on truth and love are, upon further listening, no mere ironic posturing. Does Maus have something to teach us about arriving at the truth through personal musical expression, or is he on a doomed Romantic adventure? Has he really discovered Heaven – and can he take us there?