Múm
Dusk Log EP

Opener 'Kustrin' is pretty and lively, skidding along in a series of skittery patterns so fragile that if you could touch them, they would break. The shock of a dynamic shift, violins slope by, icicles melt slowly, the water lands with a soft 'glop' in the left speaker. Whistles sound, morse code messages are transmitted, planting messages in your brain. The beat commences and suddenly, what's going on behind it is immeasurably dense and Kristin Anna's vocal appears from nowhere. Melodies continue to flicker by. Instruments enter, take a brief turn and vanish into the mist. I wonder if they'll ever return.

The music's delicacy, poise and techy edge bring Tortoise to mind. This is genuine post-rock, music which transcends the limitations of the dated rock template. Post-rock like Mogwai aren't post-rock; the 'gwai write instrumental, linear rock songs and are absolutely excellent at doing so.

'Will The Summer Make Good For All of Our Sins', a typically Mum-ish title, exhibits those breathy, almost childlike vocals as they float across a backing of icy strings. The accurately titled 'Boots of Fog' closes the EP with swampy atmospherics, computer tape error iterference, those alluring, super-feminine vocals, Mum's trademark melodica (I was wondering where the hell it was). A lightly played banjo flits in for ten seconds and reminds you of Earth, where this music was apparently made.

Mum do not aspire to help you through your working day. They will not rev you up for a friday night in Brannigans. Rather, Mum have created a delicious, otherworldly statement of artistic purity and called it 'Dusk Log'. This strange music from a faraway country will find its way into the hearts of the fortunate few.