On a particularly sticky, damp, deodorant-defying London evening, fans of indie popsters MUMM-RA flocked to the ULU student union for a fun-filled night of music and sliding about on wet floors.
There were swathes of beer-swilling students, the carpets were sticky, and there was a veritable mosh-pit at the front. The kids didn’t care that the warm air was the sort that spreads disease, and that everyone in the room stank of sweaty towels. Mumm-ra came on stage and proceeded to throw themselves about like hyperactive young children after drinking far too much Fanta.
Mumm-Ra hail from Bexhill-on-Sea, and are allegedly named after the bandaged super-villain Mumm-Ra the Everliving, of Thunder Cats notoriety. Although to look at them live on stage, it’s hard to believe that these youngsters are old enough to remember Thunder Cats, unless they’re being ‘retro’ and ‘ironic’. Which just makes this writer feel ‘old’ and ‘depressed’.
In January, Mumm-Ra were tipped by the NME as one of the ones to watch in 2007 (or something), and have been on tour with The View, The Horrors, and The Automatic (amalgamate the three and you get ‘The Automatic Horrible View’). Oh, and their new single ‘She’s Got You High’ is currently gracing our television sets courtesy of the new HSBC Plc adverts. So given the huge levels of corporate interest, there’s nothing massively ‘indie’ about Mumm-ra. But it’s hard to begrudge them, mainly because they were so young and bouncy and enthusiastic.
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Needless to say their live performance was well-polished and good fun, but fairly unmemorable. Mumm-Ra have fused the Heavy Metal principle of cramming as many guitars as humanly possible on top of some exceptionally brilliant drumming. Then, they churn out some easy accessible indie-pop (think U2, Editors, and The Jam but with little substance. Well, U2 or Editors aren’t exactly known for their words of wisdom, but you know what I mean) to which the crowd go wild. Throw in some references to the Thundercats to pique the interest of the more ‘mature’ fans, and Bob’s yer uncle, you’ve got a winning formula. And it appears to be paying off.
There's no doubt that Mumm-Ra will blatently do well in the Summer festivals. But it’s doubtful that they’ll do anything mind-blowing or edgy enough to carry them beyond that, save another mega-corporate advert soundtrack. At the end of the day though, they are what they are, and they should certainly enjoy it while it lasts...
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