It has been more than three years since the release of múm's last album "Summer Make Good", and a lot of water has passed under the bridge. And now, finally, a string of European festival appearances heralds their long-awaited new album, strangely entitled "Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy, Let Your Crooked Hands Be Holy", due out September 25.
A colorful, twitching, playful work of art, full of life-affirming energy, the album will be preceded on August 28th by the single "They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Exploded". A chirpy song about animal cruelty, it's backed with The Amateur Show, described by the band as a wonky insect-circus instrumental.
With the departure of Kristín Valtýsdóttir at the beginning of the creative process, the core of múm is again down to the original duo of founding members Gunnar and Örvar, but the band itself is now larger than ever, counting in all seven people. The album was recorded at a variety of locations, including the music school in the small fishing town of Ísafjörur in the west fjords of Iceland, where the band made use of the school's various instruments. The songs on this multifarious album were conceived over a long period in many a different fashion, with one song even dating back to the period of "Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK".
The strange, almost eerie artwork for "Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy...", and "They Made Frogs Smoke..." is by Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, who also animated the video for the single.
Confirmed summer festival dates follow, as well as fall appearances in New York and Los Angeles. More tour date announcements are imminent:
02 Jun - ATP stage - Primavera Festival, Barcelona, Spain
09 Jun - Villette Sonique Festival, Paris, France
17 Jul - La Mer De Musicas Festival, Murcia, Spain
24 Jul - Sync Festival, Athens, Greece
28 Jul - Afisha Festival, Moscow, Russia
24 Oct - Los Angeles CA, Orpheum Theatre
9 Nov - New York NY, Wordless Music Series at St. Paul the Apostle
10 Nov - New York NY, Wordless Music Series at Society for Ethical Culture
