Múm - Museum of Garden History 29/08/07

So I was one of the lucky 125 who won the opportunity (through the Múm mailing list) to purchase tickets for this very special gig at the Museum of Garden History. The Museum itself is quite weird – dedicated to displays of garden shovels and hoes through the ages – being formerly the church of St Mary-at Lambeth. Sound was good but lacked a little clarity; sightlines were ok-ish (the stage was quite small).

But you don’t want to know about that. You want to know about the new Múm.

Regular readers (oh if only) will have followed the saga of Múm’s loss of figurehead and vocalist Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir (see http://robingrebsonsguidefortheperplexed.blogspot.com/2006/11/gig-review-kitchen-motors.html). In theory Múm are now left with the two “boys”, the perhaps somewhat anonymous (and underrated) founder members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, but they have always had a squad of friends and musicians for tours and recording, and they have dipped into the pool of remarkable Icelandic talent, particularly the aforereviewed Kitchen Motors Collective, to refresh themselves. So here they were 7 strong. Regulars drummer and token Finlander, Samuli Kosminen on drums, and Ólöf Arnalds on strings and vocals were supplemented by the glorious Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (who goes by the name of Mr Silla but I can tell you she aint no fella!) and the sublimely talented Hildur Ingveldardóttir Gudnadóttir (here on vocals, but her brilliant solo cello album under the name of Lost in Hildurness has been gathering rave reviews) and Eiríkur Orri Olafsson on trumpet and keyboards.



The gig was a one-off to launch their new single “They Made Frogs Smoke 'til They Exploded” out this week and the new album “Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy” out 24th September.

And it was, of course, fantastic. It was pretty much a run through of the whole of the new album plus a couple of oldies and a very odd and wonderfully shambolic honky tonk meets gospel cover (so right, and yet so wrong, in a church, oi!)

They sounded, well, like only Múm sound. There were some differences, post–Kristín. The boys seemed, well somehow friendlier, more relaxed, warmer. The sound was brighter, a bit meatier in the beats, less waves crashing on Lighthouse rocks and more wooden shack with roaring fire and toasted marshmallows and beer and Brenivin (Iceland’s own home brew style fire-water, not known as the Black Death for nothing). Less string, more woodwind. Generally the vocals were sung by the three girls and the boys all together. As they didn’t really do old songs we wait to see how they will deal with trademark Kristín tunes like “Green Grass of Tunnel”.




To be honest, after the Kitchen Motors gig I wasn’t too worried about Múm. I knew the new members were talented, and I always suspected there was more to those two boys than met the eye. I wonder if they are in some ways liberated after Kristín. We will miss her brooding fragile intensity and sonic touches, but there is no doubt that Múm are as wonderful as ever. They tour properly later in the year and I can’t wait for December, when they play the Scala.