t seems that the three years since their last record, the superb SUMMER MAKE GOOD hasn't seen Icelandic post rocking electronica wizards múm making any huge strides towards diluting their sound or aiming for some kind of crossover mainstream success.

New record GO GO SMEAR THE POISON IVY sees the band progressing their sound in subtle, subconscious ways; opening their sound up slightly and indulging in more expansive sonic landscapes.

Latrest single MARMALADE FIRES is another song that delves into the epic, múm again playing with more expansive sonic conventions, gradually layering sound upon sound until they reach a convincing and cathartic release of gorgeous orchestral climax.  The twisted electronica of RHUUBARBIDOO harks back to the bands earliest recordings in its coming together of the strange and the beautiful.

MARMALADE FIRES is the sound of múm back to their usual sublime form, a menagerie of the strange, beautiful and ultimately surreal.

It's been over 3 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 new batch of songs making up a fresh album, mum’s fourth studio album to date, strangely titled 'go go smear the poison ivy'. A colourful, twitching and playful work of art, full of life affirming energy, the album will be preceded by the single 'they made frogs smoke 'til they exploded' on 27th August. The band are set to tour the world from Autumn onwards, with dates currently being confirmed.

Eschewing an otherworldly, almost magical aura, múm have once again managed to make an experimental record that’s naturally, effortlessly imbued with a pop sensibility. Sonically warm, gorgeously rich and melodic, the band use an array of instruments (guitars, bass, drums, synths, laptops, cello, accordion, mutated brass, and violophone to name a few) alongside crisply programmed electronic washes, beats and bleeps, blurring the distinction between live band and electronic programming.With the departure of Kristín Vlat?sdóttir 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 fishingtown of Ísafjör?ur in the west fjords of iceland, where the band made use of the schools various instruments. Coincidentally, the drums were also recorded in an old school house, on the island of Nötö west of Finland. 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’ – perhaps a significant pointer or touchstone for this new LP, certainly in tone if not execution, the production being as rich and with as much depth as anything in their canon.

Bridging the gap between their universally acclaimed debut, and their more expansive, sonically detailed recent output, ‘go go smear the poison ivy’ draws from a hugely diverse pool of musical expertise, running the gamut of emotions and displaying an array of of influences too disparate to mention.Expansive and ambitious but never obtuse or excluding, the current line-up has an unforced collaborative approach that yields fresh and exciting results. Samuli Kosminen, an explorer of flea-market percussion, old electronic fx, and beat making toys, has discovered new and strange dimensions of rhythm. A close collaborator of múm for some while, he also works closely with accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen in the duo Kluster (winners of the Finnish Film Award for Best Film-score of 2006). Ólöf Arnalds recently released her debut solo album "vi? & vi?" in Iceland, delighting and surprising critics with her emotional delivery of heartfelt, simple songs. Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson has been a key collaborator with múm since very early on and co-writes several songs here. Eiríkur is a part of various other music projects, touring in the brass section of Sigur Rós and as a recording and touring member of Benni Hemm Hemm. Hildur Gu?nadóttir is a trained cellist, a performer with boiling energy. She recently released her first cello album "Mount. A" and has collaborated with Throbbing Gristle, Schneider TM and Ilpo Väisänen of Pan Sonic (as well as recording and touring with Pan Sonic). Sigurlaug Gísladóttir or mr.Silla is the most recent addition to the band, gaining much attention in Iceland for her solo and collaborative  performances. Soon to be released is an album where she plays as half of the duo mr.Silla & Mongoose.

In the 3 years since the last LP, múm has not slept more than they thought to be normal. After 'Summer make good' they toured extensively in Europe, the US and Asia, collaborated with the National Dutch Chamber Orchestra to create a performance piece based around work by the late avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis. The last couple of years has also seen the band take part in several concerts protesting against dam building in Iceland. The band also performed ‘yesterday was dramatic, today is OK’ in its entirety at The Barbican as part of ATP’s lauded Don’t Look Back series of events. In their time outside of múm, Gunnar has been producing, recording, engineering and mixing for a number of acts, and is quickly becoming one of the most sought after producers in Iceland. He has also been working long sleepless nights on  his solo project, under the guise of Illi Vill, soon to be unveiled. Örvar has spent much of his time focusing on writing, publishing two books, as well as working on art and design. In addition to that he has been performing and playing with a number of icelandic acts, such as Skakkamanage, Benni Hemm Hemm, Singapore Sling, Reprasensitive Man, FM Belfast, and more.

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