múm – Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy
múm, a post-rock/electronica band from Iceland, released Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy in September 2007, which has proven to be a definite shift in their career. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album, considering their lead vocalist left the band. What would happen to múm once the soft, breathy childlike (and almost creepily so) voice of Kristin Anna Valtysdottir disappeared? Usually, we find bands going to shit once core members leave—Pink Floyd are a prime example. Roger Waters was able to uphold the band after Syd Barrett left due to his experimental genius that was way beyond his time, but once he left, David Gilmour went too mainstream with the band that it sounded cheesy. In múm’s case, I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy was.
For those who were creeped out by Valtysdottir’s vocals in the first place, let thou be relieved. Her key role in the band is replaced by a choir of female and male vocalists, but rather than using vocals as an accompaniment to the instrumentation, múm makes use of the power of voice to be part of the instrumentation in itself, which sounds surprisingly brilliant.
múm still has childlike themes that made me feel equally as good (“These Eyes are Berries,” “School Song Misfortune”) as I did with Finally We are No One (2002) and Summer Make Good (2004). There is no denying that Valtysdottir’s vocals was a big feature in múm’s music; however, the music itself is still very múm-esque, with the tinkling bells, analog keyboards, and what not. The album, however, has more use of live instruments, comparative to múm’s previous albums, blending horns, strings, and keyboards to create your childhood soundtrack. “Moon Pulls” is a track I especially enjoyed, which featured nothing more than a sustained piano, haunting male vocals, and a hint of what seems to be clanging string instrumentation (it sounds better than it’s described). “Guilty Rocks” makes good use of live instrumentation and synths, an evocation of Yesterday was Dramatic, Today is OK (2000). Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy is definitely a lot more upbeat and livelier than previous albums, which could be considered dark and eerie. I believe that has to do with the band’s desire to flow with Valtysdottir’s voice, which was suitable for dark and eerie things.
All in all, this album is very different from the rest of múm’s work due to its change in direction for vocals and the more upbeat childlike themes. I believe múm will definitely get a wider audience response from this album. Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy is the light of all that was dark (but beautiful), but discernibly so that we don’t forget it’s múm, even without Valtysdottir.
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