Múm’s inconsistent greatness at Brooklyn Masonic (and Wordless)
Last night was my second time watching Múm since they formed a new line-up. At St. Paul the Apostle Church last year (pictures at the end of this post) I found the band’s Wordless performance to be lacking. They’d said they’d written up a special set list to complement the very special venue, but what appeared to be a toning-down of their whimsical percussive sound, especially the drumming, seemed like the wrong choice to me. I thought the opening trio Torngat (more on them later) outdid Múm in making a truly awesome use of the venue’s awesome presence. But last night at Brooklyn Masonic Temple, with no special setlist, I felt the same void in the new Múm. The performance was very good, and at times straight-up great, but with the new members, or I should say with the absence of Kria Brekken, Múm is a different band.
All photos and more after the jump
To be fair, I am not disappointed with the new Múm. I really enjoy their newest release Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, but I regret that with Kria Brekken’s exit, the old is now definitely gone. And this only because every time I saw the old Múm live, the experience felt truly special. Last night after a set filled with songs from Go Go Smear, I was excited (as was everyone else) when they began playing “We Have a Map of The Piano” from Finally We Are No One. But as they got into the song, the overall performance of it was a bit of a mess (this was very symbolic - the old is now gone!, I say).
One of the problems, if you can call it that, is that the new girls, especially Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (aka Mr. Silla), have slick, refined voices. Kria Brekken, when she was still Kristin Anna Valtysdottir, had a strong personality with a distinct whispering, dreamy voice that always seemed to be indulged in pointless, endless, poetic musings. The new girls, on the other hand, are not musing, they are all-out singing. Besides, compared to the gentle personalities of the old girls, these two seem to be the opposite: last time with her boyish hair in platinum blonde and this time her body robed with a chic, drape-y dress, Mr. Silla is all confident and stylish; and as for cellist/singer Hildur Gudnadottir, she’s outrightly nutty. With her constant wide smiles, jokes, winks, and quick, quirky bows in a row, she gives the impression of being a total goof.
But needless to say, when the girls perform songs written for them, from Go Go Smear, especially strong ones like “They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded”, “Blessed Brambles”, “Marmalade Fires” and “Dancing Behind My Eyelids”, they take on a central role, and sound really good too. During these four songs, the performance regained some of the old specialness, albeit of a different color, but the only problem was that the entire set wasn’t as strong by Múm standards, much like the album Go Go Smear.
But it was a very good show, and the opening bands were a great surprise (more on them later). To me, drummer Samuli Kosminen is the most important thread that ties the new band to the old. Whether it’s playing the sides of his head or his orange towel padding the tight skin of his set, the earthy drum sound lives on. He shrugged modestly when at the end of the show band mates pointed to a fan holding a sign that read “Samuli is the Greatest”.
Pictures from last night’s show:
Pictures below were taken last fall at from St. Paul the Apostle church, where Múm performed as part of the Worldess Music Series.
