Before they returned with the release of their new album Summer Make Good, the follow up to 2002’s critically acclaimed Finally We Are No One, Múm released a 2-track 7″ single / 3″ CD as a teaser for the full-length. Lasting under 9 minutes and featuring the exclusive track “Once A Shiny Morning Puddle” the single is a welcome return for the Icelanders.
Now focused around the trio of Gunnar Örn Tynes, Örvar Thóreyjarson Smárason and Kristín Anna Valtysdóttir, Múm chose the contrasting locations of Berlin and a remote Icelandic lighthouse to record their new material. If the Nightly Cares single is an indication of what to expect from Summer Make Good then it should be another success.
The title track is gently melodic, with dark melancholy undertones and Valtysdóttir’s vocal electronically manipulated to sound like Bjork’s sinister alter-ego. Throw in a warm organic glow to the instrumentation and the result is a accomplished foray into melodic beauty tinged with contemplative sadness. The exclusive track “Once A Shiny Morning Puddle” has a more anxious sense of urgency about it, like a high-speed downhill bike ride filled with adrenalin, danger and fear. Add to that short ambient interludes and a burst of New Order-esque guitar and the result is a brace of perfectly contrasting and equally absorbing musical experiences.
Nightly Cares is OUT NOW on Fatcat Records.
