You’d have to have been living on Mars to not have heard of ‘The Peel Sessions’ I could not even begin to tell you how many hundreds of artists would have been in the studio with John Peel, but on 3rd October 2002, it was the turn of Icelandic band MuM.
From the country that bought us the highly idiosyncratic Bjork, MuM are just as experimental but instead of quirky pop they deal in electronica.
The four tracks (five if you include the amalgamation of the two songs on the opening track) are taken from their debut album ‘Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK’ but reworked with the more experienced hands of a band that have spent 4 years sharpening their skills together.
Opening track ‘Scratched Bicycle / Small Memory’ sets the experimental and slightly disjointed tone of the album. Next and longest track ‘Awake On A Train’, seems to me to be telling a story of the song title. Like a long and frustrating journey the music and noises depicts the emotions that may be felt. From the initial excitement of the journey; to bubbling impatience, finally resignation to the fact that you are travelling and it would be better to relax and watch the scenery fly by. ‘Now There Is That Fear Again’ and ‘The Ballad Of The Broken String’ again depict MuM's almost other worldly sounds.
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Using keyboards, synths, computers and whatever other instruments they can lay their hands, MuM undoubtedly create an edgy and futuristic sound, full of crisp and at times truly bizarre beats, bleeps and bangs. The occasional soft vocals add another dimension resulting in something which sounds just as fresh now as it would have done 4 years ago.
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