Concorde 2, 7th December 2009
Bathed in blue light and with a rumbling wall of sound shaking the very foundations of the six hundred capacity Concorde 2, up onstage the eight members that comprise múm display an almost childlike appearance as they embark upon their hour and a half long odyssey of a set. Punctuated by electronic tappings and whirrings, out of the dense and cacophonous noise rises a stark and minimalist trumpet melody before erupting into a joyous chorus of dreamlike boy/girl harmonies.
It’s a jaw-droopingly gorgeous sound that drips with emotion in the most tasteful possible way. Over the past decade, Iceland has earned a reputation for producing musical quality that belies its comparatively puny 300,000 population. Among such luminaries as Sigur Rós and Björk, to the indie kid faithful over the previous few years, múm have been added to this illustrious list, embraced with open arms by the H&M clad youth of the Noughties generation.
Led defacto by whirling hippy-chic vocalist and cellist Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir, múm waste no time in charming the pants off of every hipster in the room. Although overall the set is weighted more towards traditional organic sounds rather than their distinctly electronic tones showcased on record, the playful ‘They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded’ is a set highlight, showcasing their trademark ambient electronica and going down a storm in the process.
Though each song goes down rapturously with the audience, if there is a criticism it lies with the experimental slabs of noise spliced between the joyous sing-along anthems. Whilst working well enough over the first half hour or so, stretched over an hour and a half, the playful side of the band wears a little thin, suggesting a slight lack of focus creeping in as well as the need to fill out the set. When the band dispense with these indulgences as with the sublime ‘Marmalade Fires’ however, their sound is captivating in the extreme.
Niggling criticisms aside, now four albums into a critically acclaimed career, múm are at the peak of their creative powers and prove an incendiary live act – if the beams on the faces of tonight’s crowd as file out the doors home are to believed, the likes of Sigur Rós have got some stiff competition on their hands.
Words by Chris Shipman
Photography by Rosy Johnson
myspace.com/mumtheband
What did you think of the gig?
Jack: 6/10 “They were less electronic than on record which I missed. They were good though I thought they’d be better”
Emily: 6.5/10 “They were more vocal led live which I didn’t like too much. Their encore was really good though”
Luke: 8/10 “Really good though they could have cut down the more ambient noise-led interludes”
Sam (right): 9.5/10 “They were awesome. Very uplifting”
