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Rating:
"101 Reykjavik"
I see this movie title and I rush to watch it. I try to understand what happens on that stamp of land torn from the sea by the force of volcanoes. Iceland attracts me, with that upside-down Norwegian flag. That nation where streets have no name and the areas of the capital have numbers, where you experience the eternal contrast of ice melting into scorching lava. Icelandic musicians, like the directors of the film I mentioned, seem to act unbounded by any contamination. The result is a kind of dadaism and experimentation that is hard for anyone to match. Like the Sigur Ròs who captured and uprooted me from my world made of distorted guitars. I must say, I like Mùm less than Sigur Ròs, because perhaps they experiment less, they come across a little more flat. Nevertheless, they are intriguing with all those sounds that have a Christmas atmosphere... Two women (...dottir) and two men (...son). Now I see if on GoooOOOooooOOOgle I can find their names:
Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason
Gyða Valtýsdóttir
Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir
Gunnar Örn Tynes
This is their third "real" album after the splendid (and highly recommended) "Finally We Are No One" and the debut "Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is Ok". I say real because they've made some albums in Icelandic and other remixes. Their sound is hard to define, I would say that it seems like the Sigur Ròs of "Hlemmur" or the Mogwai of "CODY" but with fewer ideas. One of the two girls sings whispering, which in the long run is a bit irritating. This album perhaps lacks a ballad like Green Grass Of Tunnel that delighted the second album. After a washed-out intro (one repeatedly turns up the volume to see if something happens...), the album has a fairly lively first part. There is always the Lappish kling-klang as a background and the whispered voice on the instruments. Then, towards the end, the album becomes a bit repetitive and it's hard to maintain concentration.
Compared to the last release, it loses something; those who appreciated them before may be disappointed. My impression is that it's meditative music, difficult to separate from our Icelandic imagination. I imagine sitting by the window of my little house in Reykjavik, watching the snow mixed with rain fall outside, in the dim light of the early afternoon, enjoying a cinnamon tea. The music coming out of Iceland now, excluding Bjork, has that flavor of suspension in void space-time. Think of the Bang Gang, Gus Gus. They deserve 3 stars, I add one for affection.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Nightly Cares (04:58)
Skar the fire son
Pet the smiling one
Woo the sleeping one
R� the crying one
H�-hviss my little one
R�-r� my crying one
Ligg-ligg my tired one
Rura sleeping one
Touch a feal, you blind a must
Soft the skin of the warmest rust
Cause nothing blows in the faraway
I go away, go away
Past the hills, past the day
Touch a feal, you blind a must
Soft the skin of the warmest rust
Cause nothing blows in the faraway
I go away, go away
Past the hills, past the day
09 Oh, How the Boat Drifts (05:11)
oh, how the boat drifts
oh, how the tide shift
I lie my head in
I hear it coming
oh, how the wave breaks on your body
Look, how the lights lit
look how its tone shifts
it's doing my head in
we row, we row, we row towards it
Oh how the wave breaks on your body
11 Will the Summer Make Good for All of Our Sins? (04:02)
Please don't cry for hammer in your teeth
We'll spoil the pretty snow that lies beneath
Who go cry for hammer in her teeth
We'll spoil her pretty face at least she feels real
No-go cry for hammer in your teeth
We'll spoil the pretty snow that never feels real
Breathe, you breathe
believe you me tonight
breath in, breath out
make good, make float
bleed you me
_� n�tt
Please don't cry for hammer in your teeth
We'll spoil the pretty snow that lies beneath
And summer will make good for all of our sins
if we only wish it hard enough
Breathe, you breathe
who go who cry
believe you me
to night/m�m night
Breathe in, breathe out
make good, make float
bleed you me
_� n�tt
Sh� cry, who closes eyes and hopes not to come back
12 Abandoned Ship Bells (05:03)
Come little ship bells
Where are you
I just want to say "how are you"
Come here
Red raindrops
Where are you
Bells, where are you
Come to me
Your bells seem to find you
But where are you
Your bells seem to find you
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Other reviews
By MotoSegaJohn
A shadow has fallen over the fantastic world of Múm, now singing melancholic songs by candlelight, surrounded by great darkness.
This 'Summer Make Good' is a much more personal and intimate album, where haunting memories and delicate stories intertwine.
By Rohan
With them I enter a dream of music.
In my opinion, Múm create pure poetry.
By hypnosphere boy
Listening seems to see grassy blankets, glaciers, and puddles.
'Summer Make Good' actually sounds sadder and more introspective than previous records.
