Albums to watch

Smilewound

Mum

Smilewound

The Icelandic experimental collective with a 6th full-length release of offbeat electronic pop, this time featuring a cameo appearance by Kylie Minogue

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Morr Music / M.M.
UK Release date
02/09/2013
US Release date
17/09/2013
  1. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Múm’s combination of live instrumentation, ethereal harmonies and digital fixings has birthed another cracker
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  2. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    For the first time in years, they've served up something we can really sink our teeth into
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  3. 8.0 |   The 405

    Seen in the wider context of their career as a whole, the album may be viewed as an oddity, but a sparse approach works wonders; it'll be interesting to see where they go from here
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  4. 8.0 |   Clash

    Delicate, crunchy and as beautiful as the fountainhead of music whence it came
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  5. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Chills as it enchants. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Smilewound’s gleeful, weird-pop eclecticism builds up the goodwill to cover any lull
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  7. 8.0 |   Time Out

    Overall ‘Smilewound’ is a joyous album that you’ll want to cuddle up to
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  8. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Smilewound beckons and fans out, drawing the listener further and further into its own sonic world, both familiar to fans of múm’s sound and very much unlike anything that they have done previously
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  9. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    A subtle but significant step forward for a group that looked to be in danger of running out of ideas
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  10. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Even if more conventional song elements like choruses and clearly audible vocals have found their way into múm’s work, they are still far from predictable
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  11. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    A notably more pop effort from this hard-to-forecast group, and perhaps its most smoothly consumable record
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  12. 6.0 |   Q

    They seem to have struck a winning balance between eccentricity and melody. Print edition only

  13. 6.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    They do have a knack for nimble, shimmering production and you can’t help thinking that if múm were roped in to rework the top 40 it would be pretty interesting
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  14. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Embracing structure, these are songs with verses and choruses, hooks and sugary melodies, unencumbered by any desire to be fashionable
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  15. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Smilewound probably won’t bring múm a new audience but happily, if rather belatedly, it confirms their unique outlook
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  16. 6.0 |   Uncut

    Another set of impressionistic glitch-pop and clockwork exotica. Print edition only

  17. 5.7 |   Pitchfork

    Múm have a fine way with surface texture, but more of that core sturdiness would go a long way toward making their music feel as a wondrous as it tries to sound
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  18. 5.3 |   Beats Per Minute

    Múm have returned to the electronic side of things, once again – but not entirely – putting it in focus with traditional instruments and airy female vocals
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