MUMM-RA – These Things Move In Threes (Sony)
I have been into Mumm-Ra for quite a while now, having been mesmerised by their 10” EP ‘Black Hurts Day And The Night Rolls On’ last year. Further singles have only whetted my appetite for this debut album, and now that it is here I should be over the moon. However, as so often happens in cases where you discover a new band early on in their career, when the album finally arrives you find that you already have a lot of the songs on those early releases. Such is the case with Mumm-Ra, with only six of the eleven tracks being new songs. It is therefore a good job that those six songs are easily as good as the singles, and that the album stands up as a fantastic introduction to the band if it is the first thing you hear by them. Of the older tracks, ‘Song B’ is still the weirdest thing that the band have ever recorded, and yet it seems to get better every time I hear it. ‘Light Up This Room’ is fleshed out with some subtle strings, although I think that I actually prefer the fragile acoustic version on the ‘Black Hurts Day…’ EP, while hearing ‘Out Of The Question’ and ‘What Would Steve Do?’ again just emphasises what glorious singles they were. Of the new songs, the title track is another of their effortlessly catchy tunes, ‘The Sick Deal’ ups the ante with one of their heaviest moments, and ‘Starlight’ is yet another potential single, although I shouldn’t really say that or this will soon turn into a ‘Greatest Hits’ album. This album just confirms for me that Mumm-Ra are one of best new bands around at the moment - if not the best in terms of innovation and sheer musical joy. Every track here has ‘hit single’ written all over it, and the last album that I could say that about was The Feeling’s debut. However, I don’t think they will reach the same heights as The Feeling as Mumm-Ra seem keen to stick to their indie roots, and more power to them for adhering to their principles. Don’t be put off by a lack of mainstream press coverage and give them a listen.