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Iceland's Múm - the name seemingly a made-up word with no real-life
meaning - are often described as pioneers of folktronica, their previous
five albums since their inception in 2000 displaying much of their
homeland's trademark quirk and charm.
This time round sees a soft, almost restrained collection of tracks,
perhaps making up in mellifluous calm what it lacks - sometimes - in the
fire and dazzle that characterised much of 2007's Go Go Smear The Poison
Ivy. The drowsy vocals, particularly apparent in the album's opening and
closing tracks (If I Were A Fish, Ladies Of The New Century), the
breathiness of A River Don't Stop To Breathe, and the soporific repetition
used on several tracks all contribute to the creation of a discernable and
distinct atmosphere. This is a band that can create and maintain a world of
its own, with its own internal logic, then gently share it with the
listener.
The key theme here seems to be water. From the opener's ponderings on
the likelihood of romance between a fish and a seashell, to the underwater
sounds running through tracks like the excellent Sing Along, to numerous
references in titles (A River Don't Stop To Breathe) or lyrics ("In these
words we drown", "Bathwater tides come in", "The last shapes of someone /
Who swims in the dark deep lake" and so on), a liquid ebb and flow pervades
the whole album.
This works well to nicely offset the otherwise occasional
obscurity or nonsensical nature of the lyrics - "Hullabbalabaluu / Say kings
of Avalon", for example, or much of the shivery, unsettling
Kay-Ray-Ku-Ku-Ko-Kex - and contributes much to its gentle appeal.
As one would expect from the genre descriptions, the band mix musical
elements judiciously and expertly. Bleeps and glitches (The Smell Of Today
Is Like Breast Milk In The Wind), strange synthesised "boing boing" noises
and underwater gurgles combine with that oldest of old fashioned instruments
the harpsichord (If I Were A Fish), violins and violas (syrupy on A River
Don't Stop To Breathe, orchestral on Illuminated, beautiful, sombre and
evocative on Blow Your Nose), piano and brass.
The production sometimes
frustrates by creating a sheen, polish and sweetness that is just blander
than a band that is clearly this experimental and creative ought to be
sounding, with the worst culprits being Prophecies and Reversed Memories and
The Smell Of Today... Elsewhere there is the occasional surprising country
twang, most noteably on If I Were A Fish, with its steel guitar and lovelorn
air.
In short, then, these twelve tracks make for diverting and beguiling
company for the fifty or so minutes spent with them. Like a cool glass of
(what else?) water they can be sometimes bland yet at other times crisp and
refreshing, and are more often vital than otherwise. Take a slurp.
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