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Recipe: take the sparkling pop of Björk, the eclectic dance of Gus Gus, and the evocative atmospheres of Sigur Ròs.
Add the extravagance of the latest Radiohead and mix it all with Tortoise-style interference.
Put in the blender, hit on, and enjoy the MùM.
That's two guys and two twin sisters from Iceland. The same Iceland whose music scene experienced a surge of creativity after the "pioneer" Björk embarked on a solo career, following her time with the Sugarcubes. And behind her, indeed, Gus Gus, Sigur Ròs, Emiliana Torrini, Quarashi...
Not least the MùM, who already boast two LPs and a couple of EPs, even though they are only now beginning to be appreciated on the continent. And more than ever now that "Finally We Are No One," the MùM confirm the approach already glimpsed in "Yesterday was Dramatic, Today is ok": minimalist electronics. Be careful, not minimal, because MùM will not surprise you with sounds sprung from some unusual electronic gadget, much less with imperceptible rhythms the product of icy drum machines or cold synthesizers.
They will surprise you with balance and with togetherness. With the perfect synthesis of dream and magic. Suggestive emotions will envelop you from the single "Green Grass of Tunnel," where a childlike voice will lay you down on a sound carpet and lead you into a harmony made of guitar arpeggios, xylophone, and piano.
The melancholic atmosphere of “We Have a Map of the Piano” will pamper you in an unreal and unexplored world. Enjoy the electronic expanse towards silence in “K/Half Noise,” before slipping into the expanded psychedelia of the 11 minutes of “The Land Between Solar Systems.”
And if you manage to find “Loksins erum við engin,” that is, the same LP sung in their mother tongue, don’t miss it; you will be amazed at how Icelandic, seemingly so hostile, can become a soothing lullaby.
Personally, I think they are "ahead" of the common concept of electronics. I certainly won’t be surprised if we hear more about them.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Green Grass of Tunnel (04:51)
Down from my ceiling
Drips great noise.
It drips on my head through a hole in the roof
Behind these two hills here
There's a pool
And when I'm swimming
In through a tunnel
I shut my eyes
Inside their cabin
I make sounds
In through the tubes I send this noise.
Behind these two hills here
Fall asleep
And when i float in
Green grass of tunnel
It flows back
Down from my ceiling
Drips great noise
It drips on my head through a hole in the roof
Behind these two hills here
There's a pool
And when i'm swimming
In through a tunnel
I shut my eyes
03 We Have a Map of the Piano (05:19)
Please don't flow so fast
You little mountain hum
I'll take a bottle down to you
Please don't flow this fast
You hold a little hum
I'll bottle sounds just me for you
Please don't flow so fast
You little mountain din
I'll bottle piano sounds from you
Please don't flow so fast
You little mountain noise
I'll close my eyes and bite your tongue
07 Now There's That Fear Again (03:56)
Jump of the bridge on our bikes
Float down stream to us
Float down stream to us
Hang onto the steer
To the steer
Float with the noise
With our bikes
Float down stream
I hang onto my bike
To my bike
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Other reviews
By samterra
A beautiful postcard from the land of ice.
It almost seems to ask for permission, and I have unconsciously already given it free access to my emotional balances.
By foreveryoung
Poetic Mum! Delicate, ethereal, intangible, and above all fairytale-like.
When you listen to Mum for the first time you wonder: “But who’s singing? A woman, a child, an elf, the snow fairy, a shy alien wanting to befriend you?”
