Search - Mum :: Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Dig)

My favorite group for several years now, this is incredible

S. Ranney | Chicago, Il USA | 11/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I just wanted to say that I pursue music for a living and find it so rare to find a descent album which isn't repetitive, fake, over-processed, cliche, and common in it's use of sounds/instruments. This album has grown on me more than any album I have ever owned. When you open your ears, you will notice how brilliant the album is and the music is genius.

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The Icelandic powerhouse band Mum continually expand upon their abilities to compose fresh new music, releasing one album after the next without dropping loyal fans as many other groups have. The impressiveness of this feat may involve their talents; each album contains something completely new, and yet somehow continues the trademark sound which makes Mum unique.

Still, Mum's 2007 release Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy may be the group's most innovative up to date. With a more expanded combination of instruments than ever before, they have managed to blend acoustic and electronic instruments into one identity within their music. In a world where there exists labels for genres such as rock, pop, classical with few innovators, and countless followers, Mum surely cannot be labeled. Instead, their music communicates both texturally, harmonically, and in terms of instrumentation to create a specific soundscape or feeling.

Although others may disagree, I found Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy to be the best and one of the only albums for the winter season. With the exception of jingles, carols, and related thematic music for the holidays, music suited for the winter comes few and far in between. With harmonica, accordion, violin, piano, harp, and synthesized sounds which seem to create new timbres rivaling acoustic instruments, Mum often uses the high end to create a sparkling sound that resembles winter (Snow in particular) perfectly. The rhythmic aspects of the album do not inflict a thick sound, shoving beats in the listeners' faces as many artists do, but instead consist of a variety of percussive tones created by the group's imagination; often the other instruments have their own consistent groove aspects to add to the fundamental rhythm so that even when the beat does not seem apparent, the music still somehow has a pulse. The female vocalist's bizarre voice sounds like a mix between a child (possibly what we'd imagine an infant to sing like) and a grandmother. Previously, her voice tended to serve a more haunting, dark, creepy style of music, yet on Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy, she combines her voice with the male's voice to create harmonies perfectly suitable to the childish, playful quality associated with snow. Containing the same breathiness as well as beauty, Mum manages to create another surreal album that somehow still manages to pertain to reality perfectly.

The lyrics of Mum's music tend to be out of this world. Despite their Icelandic heritage, English pervades the entire album, resulting in lyrics as surreal as the album itself. Phrases such as "If you snap it like a twig, glue it back with little sticks, put it back into the grass again." continue the group's trademark childlike sound. Of course, nothing tends to be more imaginative than a child, so the lyrics make for an interesting album surely out of the norms. The group's direction seems to continue the use of "lyrics for the sake of the music", which I tend to prefer to convey atmosphere rather than the often boring instrumentation with melodramatic lyrics typically heard by other artists.

Song names portray the tracks accurately, including high piano sounds with bells, modal scales, in "These Eyes are Berries", breathe singing with uplifting beats, major pedal points in the bass in "Blessed Brambles". After track four, the album seems to take another direction; from a winter's morning to its night. Track five, "Moon Pulls", has a hammered string instrument (possibly prepared piano) being used in the low register for the first time on the album, with a minimalistic texture and a descending theme. For the first time, only the male voice sings, portraying a darker, more profound, nightly texture.

Track seven, "Rhuubarbidoo", only spans one and a half minutes and could function as a theme song. "Dancing Behind My Eyelids" might be my favorite track on the entire album. It begins with a thick pulsating bass note, eventually fading in reverberated, smoother, mid-ranged synthesizers. When the dark chord progression and (Mum's first) thick drum beat begin, an incredible Mum-invented cacophony of high-pitched sounds invade the track. The sounds create a texture that only reminds me of some sort of transportation to another world, and truly cannot be described in words. Somehow, Mum has this sound creating harmonies within the music, yet keeping the dissonant unrelated feeling of the frequencies.

The last track, titled "Winter", seems to confirm my thoughts on the group's theme for the album. It serves as an excellent closing track, yet doesn't seem to truly close. It spans four minutes of solely reverberated ambiance, portraying an eternal, haunting, slowly dying feeling for the listener.

I believe that anyone who listens to Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy and does not show some sort of appreciation or interest does not truly understand the music. However, I am biased, and continually prefer the innovators over the followers. For any Mum fans, or music connoisseurs interested in something new, Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy is a 7 out of 5.



- all in all, this album is an excellent sonic experience, surreal, yet perfect for the winter (IMO), beyond the realm of post rock, though I should never even classify Mum, moody with every song... All sounds blend brilliantly to create soundscapes, and the harmonic movement is so catchy/beautiful. I can't say anything bad about it."

A break from the norm

Ella Quin | Daejeon, Korea | 02/03/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is múm's first album without Kristin, who previously had provided the eerie, high-pitched vocals that contributed so much to the band's signature icy sound. Her absence will be sorely missed by any longtime fan.



Honestly, Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy is so different from múm's past endeavors that it's difficult to say they are still the same band. The remaining members now sing in harmony together, which I admit works well but is very different. The music incorporates heavier instrumentation, and the electronic sounds have digressed far from the typical Moog melody. Nevertheless, these are not necessarily criticisms, and the album is worth a listen if you are a fan.



If you are not already a fan of múm but want to check them out, I'd suggest starting with their first album, Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today is OK, and working your way up to this one chronologically.

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