Brainwashed.com May 2002

Review by Jon Whitney.



Finally we are no one (FatCat)

In the course of just over a year's time, Múm has captured the attention of music fans worldwide, through a debut full-length album, two albums of various mixes, and more than a handful of collaborative work and compilation appearances. (Their adorable looks and their ambiguous song titles probably didn't hurt by adding to their appeal either.) Perhaps the most often associated words concerning a sophomore album after such a large success are both anticipation and expectation. This album could very well possibly be one of this year's most anticipated releases, but the amount of expectations it exceeds is unmeasurable. I have to admit that at first, I was rather taken aback with the amount of vocals on the disc, but there's also a much larger presence of non-synthetic instruments on the whole, including accordion, guitar, bass, strings, horns, melodica, percussion and organic effects. The quartet use everything wisely, never saturating any song with an abundance of instruments which would render these songs impossible to recreate live. Thomas Brinkmann may have been playing his records' inside grooves but not until the sounds of those lock grooves combined with Múm's signature wistful lullabye sound on the third track, "We Have a Map of the Piano" do those groove sounds feel like they have been properly harnessed. Múm's years of experience with improvisation and collaboration have undoubtedly given them a necessary unique approach in taking that necessary step to bring more human elements back into electronic music. It's probably why they have gained so much recognition by both the electronic music and indie rock crowds. Fear not the evolution, however, as there are a number of pretty, instrumental, digital songs which could please any fan of their previous work. Any fanatic lucky enough to order their CD-R and other obscure releases will indeed recognize a few melodies contained herein. They make it seem so damned easy, with the glitchy beats retired to the back of the mix underneath organ, accordion and string counterpoint on truly jaw-dropping climactic songs like "I Can't Feel My Hand Any More, It's Allright, Sleep Still" just before the masterpiece title track, which could easily be the 'nod' to 'Yesterday Was Dramatic...'. If you didn't fall in love with the twin girls with their photo on the Belle and Sebastian cover ('Fold Your Hands Child...') their voices on the 11-minute album closer, "The Land Between Solar Systems" will most certainly win your heart. [Hopefully since their first band was a Pixies cover, they'll be enthusiastic about playing Boston. In which case, I'd be more than happy being a tour guide for a few days. How about it?] Fanatics of the Icelandic language and Múm die-hards should note that there's a super limited edition with the vocal songs in Icelandic available only from Bad Taste.



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