MÚM
Dusklog (Fat Cat Records)
Reviewed by Sherman Wick

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Dusklog (CD EP) features the Icelandic electronic-folk band creating its most experimental music to date. The relatively straightforward and poppy song structure of early records has been supplanted by trippy and wildly imaginative arrangements. The band is definitely trying to revamp and reinvent its sound - and what better place than on an EP.

"Kostrzyn" is a great start. The track combines propelling drums and techno loops with ethereal synthesizer riffs and beautiful violin playing to create the feel of a space hoe down. It's an amazing amalgam of normally disparate sounds. "This Nothing Blowing in the Faraway" would fit in well with mellow shoegazer music ala the Cocteau Twins at their best or a sedated My Bloody Valentine. The vocals might be "this nothing" referred to in the song's title as they blow about deep in the background of the mix of the song. Play this quiet track loud and the multiple layers of texture will stand out. The band plays a more traditionally structured song on "Will the Summer Make Good for All Our Sins?;" it's the only song where the singer's angelic vocals are at the center alongside sublime samples, loops and acoustic instruments such as accordion. The final track on the record, "Books of Fog," is the only real miss on the record. It's an abstract jumble of samples and kitchen sink instrumentation that could use more defined structure.

Dusklog is an inventive EP, and it will be interesting to see where the band takes this experimentation on the next full-length record.

© 2005 - Sherman Wick