MÚM live

what i did hear sounded pleasant enough, and it was good to see those tiny little sqeaky voices coming out of real people (seeing = believing)

but despite seeing múm live i'm still largely unaware of what múm sound like live

The DV's article on Múm (and others) live, and comments thereon.

<<< www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000066HH0/qid=1027694497/sr=2- 1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9028860-7967254 >>>

There are several Real Audio clips and some pretty descriptive reviews. I only found out about them two days ago, but already I feel like I've known them for three days.

-Sizzla

Saw them in Brighton in a church and it was the cutest gig I'd seen since the first time I saw Belle and Sebastion. One of the girls was so shy and would keep coming up to the microphone to speak, but the songs would start before she plucked up the courage to say anything.

I guess I must have been lucky because the crowd were really quiet, but I know from experience that bands with dynamics are often drowned out by crowd noise in the quieter sections. This will always happen unless you have a pretty fanatical crowd (a band such a Low tends to have these kinds of audience) as people use going to gigs as a social event. The strategy I devised once Mogwai gigs started to be populated by hipster types was to try and pretend the crowd atmosphere is part of the song. It works quite well despite not being perfect, try it somet

Go on: someone start a Mum vs. International Airport thread.

Yes, the were ROWWWRRR.

Last night, at the Black Cat in Washington D.C., I went to see Mum play. Actually, although Mum fall under the "electronic" label, I discovered last night that that is misleading and largely incorrect. Mum do not merely make electronic music- In fact, it's difficult putting any label on Mum's music, because it is too damn distinct. It blends a lot of familiar sounds together to create something new, but there is also a lot of originality in their sound thanks to the various exotic instruments they play. Calling them an electronic band misrepresents them because electronics take a backseat to real, live playing. In fact, the only electronic aspect of their show last night was some computerized beats, but they were complimented and/or replaced by an actual drummer.
There are five people in the band- Throughout the night, the band members switched- during and in-between songs- instruments like mad. On stage, there was an accordion, a number of synths and Casio keyboards, a drum kit, a cello, a music box, 2 laptops, a bass, an electric guitar, and 2 strange instruments that looked like toys but are actually integral to many of the songs on their new album. These two weird instruments looked plastic, like something you could buy at Toys 'R Us, but the sounds that came from them are fucking awesome (I can point out the specific songs you can hear the instruments on later). One of these weird instruments looked like a hand-held keyboard with a tube coming out of it that you blow into. Anyone know what either of them are?
While the drummer stayed behind his drum kit the whole time, the other 4 members switched around constantly. The two twins (I'll get to them later) sang, played the cello and accordian, keyboards, bass, and the two strange instruments. The two guys alternated between the synths, laptops, guitars and bass, and one of them played some strange kazoo-like thing too.
The drummer was so fucking good. His playing was mostly percussive, lots of clanging cymbals and hi- hats and what not- He was so good at complimenting the computerized beats and providing a rhythm that I can only describe as a toy factory. I had no idea they had such a talented drummer- In fact, it makes me think he may not be a permanent member of the band, that he might just be touring with them. If not- and I hope he's really in the band- his presence needs to be heard more on the studio albums. He had everyone around me dropping their jaws.
Mum's Secret Weapon: Another thing that sets Mum apart from the typical electronic band is their two singers- they are twins and, good lord, they are the two most beautiful, insanely cute women I have ever laid eyes on. They're physical perfection is indescribable. When you see them in person, you realize that there is no chance in hell that they are actually from Earth. And their voices....OH MY GOD, their voices are just as beautiful as they are. When they talk, it's so quiet and soft and soothing, that it's barely audible. A few times throughout the night, they said "Thank you" after a song, and it was like a faint whisper. But when they sing!!! Oh man- The minute they opened their mouths to sing, my heart sank, I got goosebumps and my entire body began to tingle. They have the best voices ever and they hit every note perfectly as if it was second-nature.
My girlfriend was there with me and she was just as awe-inspired by the beauty of their voices and their gorgeousness. We both thought that the twin who played the accordian would snap in two when strapped on the big, heavy-looking instrument.
For those who know Mum and are curious, only one twin sings the vocals on their non-instrumental songs (the one on the right of that Belle and Sebastian album cover), while the other one occassionally sings back-up and mostly played the cello.
Ok, so I think I stressed enough how phenomenal those two women are. Here's the setlist, mostly out of order:
Finally We Are No One (I'm pretty sure they opened with this. They definitely played this song, but I'm having trouble remembering if it was this or another short, ambient instrumental that they started off with.)
K/Half Noise (They went right into this. The cooing vocals had everyone in a trance. It was pure beauty.)
The Green Grass of Tunnel (There were some nice modifications on the programmed beat on this, and of course the singing was out of this world.)
We Have a Map of the Piano (I was so glad they played this- It's one of my favorites from the new album.)
I Can't Feel My Hand Any More, It's Alright, Sleep Still (A definite highlight as well. I have a new found respect for this song.)
The Land Between Solar Systems (Another highlight. Wow! By the middle of the song, the drummer was smashing away and it was so gripping. Much better than the incredible studio version if only because of the added drums.)
Smell Memory- Holy Shit this was awesome!! This is one of the best songs from their debut, but this was even better- Live, they sped the bpm up to give it an irresistible groove. The drums- both programmed and live- were invigorating as they clanged away and that laser-like sound was extra loud. So cool.)
Please Smile My Spring Reverb- I was surprised and, extremely glad, they played something from Please Smile My Noise Bleed. Very cool.
Now There's That Fear Again- Another favorite from the new album, this closed the main set.
Encore: They closed the show out with Awake on a Train, which is basically one long song split into two sections. It was a great way to end the show- on an upbeat note and with a song that has so many layers of instruments, it really shows off how talented they are. And they added some "la la la's" that made it even better.

All in all, it was a fantastic show. Thankfully, they played more songs with vocals than instrumentals and they played every one of my favorites besides Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records (if they had played that, I think I would have melted.)
Some other details:
They sure know how to sell their merchandise: After the show, one of the twins came behind the merchandise counter and was selling t-shirts. The audience all flocked there immediately! I bought my t-shirt from her! I was so close, I could have reached over and touched her!
The opening band- Phaser- was fucking awful. Ok, the music was ok, even though they sounded like Radiohead wannabe's, and had a typical boring-ass loud- soft dynamic. They always took forever to end their songs, they played too long, and they had really awful fucking lyrics and singing. One of the singers tried to hit a falsetto and sounded like a shrieking animals instead. Ughghgh. I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Before Mum came out, they played Sonic Youth's Dirty and afterwards they played something by Dirty Three.
That's all I guess. Great show.

ps: they were joined by Adam Pierce aka Mice Parade on a song... maybe more labelmates will pop up along the tour if you're lucky

I woke up this morning and for no specific reason had the urge to hear the first múm album, damn this is great. The sort of schmindie electronica I used to listen to like 20 years ago, but this has held up great. I don't think I need to advance beyond the first two, but I just wanted to point out that oh yeah, this pretty much forgotten group were actually pretty awesome. That is all.

I have days when "Summer Make Good" is my favourite album and "The Land Between Solar Systems" (from "Finally") my favourite song.

I've had Finally We Are No One since it came out; I go back to every few months and still find new things in it. It has a mood, particular in the second half, that I find hard to describe and which I don't really get from any other record.