Mum - Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Fat Cat)
4/5
By: Chris O'Toole
Múm are a classically orientated Icelandic pop ensemble. Bearing all the hallmarks of their national stamp, the group produces intricate, measured and experimental pop - filled with delicate melodies, and possessive of a wispy, otherworldly aura of contentment and charm.
Originally composed of Gunnar Örn Tynes, Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, and twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, the group was formed in the late nineties and had released three albums before the present Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy. Only founding memebers Smárason and Tynes remain, but they've been joined by a further five musicians, leaving Múm in possession of what sounds akin to a magical music box found in the hills of eastern Europe, filled with a mythical charm and a wonderful redolence.
Over the three years since the groups last album Summer Make Good was released, Múm have been honing their sound. As a result they have removed some of the more playful elements of their earlier work, excluding some of their more idiosyncratic tendencies and creating a more focused sound. This is not to say the group has become compartmentalized - instead they are focusing on their strength. As such Go Go... is a colourful collage; a bright and fulfilling work.
From the opener 'Blessed Brambles' through to the end of 'Winter (What We Never Were After All)', the album is deeply melodic and rich, filled with pop sensibilities and effortlessly charming to all who listen. Tracks such as 'They Made the Frogs Smoke 'til They Exploded' expound a tremendous sense of humour and are filled with crisp electronic beats, blurred with an array of instruments - including vibraphone and accordion as well as more usual suspects - to create another world, always in within sight, but not reach.
At times the work sounds like a carousel spinning out of time with the music; a fractured disorientated sound takes hold of the record for minutes on end. But the challenging assaults are always muted by moments of crystal clear melody. As a whole the album is a mixture of expansive, sonically dextrous experiments and adroit, beautifully crafted pop numbers; with 'Guilt Rocks' being an example of the former and 'Moons Pulls' of the former.
Go Go... is a strange and eerie work, pulling in one hundred different destination simultaneously. It is a collaborative effort between a diverse and skilled collection of musicians, each bringing their particular warped forte to proceedings to create a wonderful slow motion cacophony. A beautiful, shimmering album, well worth repeated listen.
Stream two tracks from 'Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy' HERE.
Artists in this article: Mum
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