"Searching for a broken world / Where our hearts belong / Seems like we never did / All along..."
The glacial melancholia, iridescent hope of "Kill the Light" by Icelandic collective múm, from their upcoming album 7th studio album "History of Silence", feels like a transformative piece of performance art, a steady walk towards something impactful. A blend of ethereal ambient meets baroque pop meets dream pop meets fantasy / space rock, I feel even vintage streaks of 70's new age or seeds of it and mind bending shapes that feel as if they came from 80's fantasy / fable flicks. "History of Silence" is, indeed, special as the collective has not released a "full work" since 2013's "Smilewound".
I am loving the blend of analog meets electronica, the cascading filtering of genres and iconic eras and the tender nuances, quite understated heaviness for even the quite massive eruptions of sound that do not feel harsh to the ears but, instead, warm to the heart. AND maybe, especially, I am totally enamored by the vulnerable vocal performances.
"It's easily the most light hearted song on the album," Örvar Smárason says about the new track. "Lots of sunshine, 4 track cassette beat, mangled guitar, wonky bass and distorted vocals. It starts with the sound we recorded from a camera flash going off, so it literally begins with a burst of light."
"Searching for a broken world
Where our hearts belongSeems like we never did
All along
Searching for a broken world
Where our hearts belong
Seems like we never did
All along
Staring at the crowded sky
On a breathless night
Galaxy, tapestry
Kill the light
Searching for a broken world
Where our hearts belong
Satellite, haunting light
On our own
Kill the light
And you won't feel alone
Searching for a broken world
Where our hearts belong
Seems like we never did
All along"
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[For a long time now, múm have been exploring the idea of distance in their music. In the beginning, this was born purely out of necessity. Founded in Iceland in the late 1990s, the members soon began embarking on journeys across the world—collectively while touring, but also individually, exploring new places to live and create. Settling in, moving on, catching up: The concept of distance soon became an integral part of the collective's process. »History of Silence« leans into this idea, with space and time becoming indispensable pillars of the arrangements. While being coherent and structured, they echo their origins from different seasons, cities, and spaces—neatly stitched together with unparalleled craftsmanship. They breathe an overall airy and intimate atmosphere, yet resonate with the structural heft of time.]
[Work on »History of Silence« began at Sudestudio in southern Italy. Additional recordings were made in Reykjavík, Berlin, Athens, Helsinki, New York, and Prague. The strings were recorded by Sinfonia Nord at the Hof concert hall, Akureyri, arranged and conducted by Ingi Garðar Erlendsson, who has worked with the band for many years. The orchestral elements don’t dominate the record—instead, they surface gently, adding depth and resonance to the songs without disturbing the songs' fragility.
Contrary to what the album title suggests, »History of Silence« is a collection of bold and colorful songs, no matter how muted they might sound at times. They tickle like a feather drifting through the wind, ending up in unexpected places, stimulating long-forgotten thoughts and feelings, intimate moments of introspection. The songs move through the echoes those moments leave behind: the emotional traces of things unsaid, the weight of stillness. Offering closeness by means of distance and much-needed support.]
Contrary to what the album title suggests, »History of Silence« is a collection of bold and colorful songs, no matter how muted they might sound at times. They tickle like a feather drifting through the wind, ending up in unexpected places, stimulating long-forgotten thoughts and feelings, intimate moments of introspection. The songs move through the echoes those moments leave behind: the emotional traces of things unsaid, the weight of stillness. Offering closeness by means of distance and much-needed support.]
In the final analysis, "Kill the Light" is a special luminescent lake of a song that tells different stories depending on how it's light itself is cast. I love songs like this that while casting a heavy mood / vibe is so deep that you cannot see the bottom.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://mumband.bandcamp.com/album/history-of-silence
https://www.instagram.com/mumtheband/
https://www.facebook.com/mumtheband
https://x.com/mumtheband
múm are returning with a new album on Morr Music. »History of Silence« is the first full body of work by the Icelandic collective since 2013's »Smilewound« and their seventh studio album to date—recorded, deconstructed, put back together again, refined and finished over the course of two years. Vibrantly oscillating around a carefully curated palette of electronic and analogue sounds, the eight new tracks reflect the group's continuous striving to explore sonic spaces through subtle yet gripping songwriting.
For a long time now, múm have been exploring the idea of distance in their music. In the beginning, this was born purely out of necessity. Founded in Iceland in the late 1990s, the members soon began embarking on journeys across the world—collectively while touring, but also individually, exploring new places to live and create. Settling in, moving on, catching up: The concept of distance soon became an integral part of the collective's process. »History of Silence« leans into this idea, with space and time becoming indispensable pillars of the arrangements. While being coherent and structured, they echo their origins from different seasons, cities, and spaces—neatly stitched together with unparalleled craftsmanship. They breathe an overall airy and intimate atmosphere, yet resonate with the structural heft of time.
On »History of Silence« time manifests in unexpected, liberating, and mesmerizing ways. It does not move reliably forward; it drifts, takes twists and turns, even disappears completely. Electronic textures blur into acoustic sounds, voices flicker and dissolve, melodies stumble and repeat. The arrangements often feel like they’re wandering, gently resisting direction. »Our Love is Distorting,« for instance, begins with a subtle piano motif, playing hide and seek with feedback noises, digital artefacts, and lush—yet very quiet—string arrangements, before gradually forming into a distinctive song. It's a perfect illustration of múm's general approach on this album. »Mild at Heart« turns this idea upside-down, flowing freely from start to finish with moments of silence sprinkled in—serving to emphasize the musical elements. The music on »History of Silence« moves like weather: unexpected, intimate, quietly detailed. Contrasted with vivid phrases, rhythmic shifts, and small hooks, the album offers a new angle of compositional clarity and vision.
Work on »History of Silence« began at Sudestudio in southern Italy. Additional recordings were made in Reykjavík, Berlin, Athens, Helsinki, New York, and Prague. The strings were recorded by Sinfonia Nord at the Hof concert hall, Akureyri, arranged and conducted by Ingi Garðar Erlendsson, who has worked with the band for many years. The orchestral elements don’t dominate the record—instead, they surface gently, adding depth and resonance to the songs without disturbing the songs' fragility.
Contrary to what the album title suggests, »History of Silence« is a collection of bold and colorful songs, no matter how muted they might sound at times. They tickle like a feather drifting through the wind, ending up in unexpected places, stimulating long-forgotten thoughts and feelings, intimate moments of introspection. The songs move through the echoes those moments leave behind: the emotional traces of things unsaid, the weight of stillness. Offering closeness by means of distance and much-needed support.
Bless.
múm, Icelandic art collective, "Kill the Light" single, new 7th studio abum "History of Silence", tenderness, electronica meets analog, first since 2013, streaks of new age, dream pop, baroque pop, fantasy rock,
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