Mum - Finally We Are No One

  by Chris Jones

published: 9 / 7 / 2002

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Review

I played DJ at a friend's housewarming party over the weekend and, after playing the song 'Green Grass of Tunnel', several people asked "what band is that?" and "can you play more of that CD?"  I was a bit surprised by that response because the people that were at the party aren't really fans of electronic / IDM type music and I really just played it because I've been listening to this CD everyday since I got it (Yeah, I'm one of those DJs who doesn't really play for the crowd.  Guess that's why radio and my room are the main venues I've played).  Then again, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised as Mum's music isn't really your mum's IDM anyway! 'Finally We are No One' is the second full length release from Iceland's Mum and their only CD that I've heard...so far! A friend of mine recommended Mum after we talked about the latest releases from the Notwist and Lali Puna.  Like those bands, Mum combine a dreamy pop aesthetic with electronics and create an incredibly soothing musical experience.  It reminded me of Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works Vol 2' and I have since read that Aphex Twin did indeed influence the direction of the band.  The band formed in 1997 after meeting while working on a children's play. That seems very fitting as the vocals sound like they are being sung by a small child (or maybe that's just how all Icelandic girls sing). They have an otherworldly quality to them that blends perfectly with the electronic elements, the melodicas, the violins, trumpet, and whatever else Mum used in making this music! I was assuming because of these vocals that the twin sisters in the band, Gyetha and Kristín Anna Valtysdóttir, must be small elf like creatures -something like fellow Iceland native Bjork, who I'm sure they must get compared to often enough.  It turned out that I'd actually seen them before, as they were the cover stars on the Belle and Sebastian album 'Fold your Hands....', so they aren't as elf like as I had envisioned.  My visions aside, the reason I mentioned that is the band do have a similar fey / coy / sexy tone much like Belle & Sebastian.  And that's one of the main things that really separates Mum from the rest of the electronic / IDM crowd.  Many IDM producers seem to really focus on the electronics and the programming and not so much on the song.  Thus, the music sounds like it was created by one person and their computer.  Mum, on the other hand, sounds like a band that creates songs that incorporate electronics and programming.  That's why Mum can perform live (they'll be in San Francisco on August 10th !!!) and that's also what made a room full of people who don't listen to electronic music suddenly take notice. The combination of electronic sounds and a sombre / dreampop tone is something that i've really been enjoying lately.  The pop elements make the music more interesting / accessible than most of the click and glitch bands, and the electronic elements give the songs a different texture and energy than guitar based dreampop tends to have.  This album has a beautiful delicacy to it and the songs are like lullabies for children on a distant planet.  Several of them are going on a tape I'm making for my 2 year old niece that also has songs from Hood, the Bows, the Notwist, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Wunder on it.She should have an interesting childhood....

Track Listing:-

1 Sleep / Swim
2 Green Grass Of Tunnel
3 We Have A Map Of The Piano
4 Don't Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Close
5 Behind Two Hills, A Swimmingpool
6 K/ Half Noise
7 Now There's That Fear Again
8 Farwawy Swimmingpool
9 I Can't Feel My Hand Any More
10 Finally We Are No One
11 The Land Between Solar Systems

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