September 21, 2007
Mum: 'Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy'
'To be filed alongside Four Tet and Maps in the ‘bedtime’ playlist'
8 / 10
As with many things Icelandic (the language, Björk, the price of a pint, why anyone takes teen-punk reprobates Jakobínarína seriously), you won’t get a surfeit of sense from the likes of Múm. With an album so-titled and a preceeding single called ‘They Made Frogs Smoke ’Til They Exploded’, it’s nice to see they’re still gleefully eccentric. Their first full-length since losing founding member Kristín Valtsdóttir, ‘Go Go...’ is a delight, and much less agitated once it’s settled down. Both ‘Moon Pulls’ and the harp/trumpet/synth tussle of ‘Marmalade Fires’ nod towards the majesty of ‘Green Grass Of Tunnel’-era Múm, while ‘Blessed Brambles’ is another slice of quirky and breathy folktronica. Steer clear some of the quirkier tracks and this is a glorious marriage of lush instrumentation, electronica and field recordings – to be filed alongside Four Tet and Maps in the ‘bedtime’ playlist. Sublime.
Tim Chester
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