Mummer
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Critic Reviews
89
If you’ve ever wondered how a quartet that recorded Black Sea would eventually morph into a trio that recorded Skylarking six years later, Mummer is a necessary link in that chain. But it’s so much more than mere connective tissue; it rewards returning listeners with overflowing nuances.
4y
60
There are moments of real inspiration, resulting in some of the band's finest songs to date ... and the sound sets a pleasingly consistent mood, although the sameness tends to work against the lesser material.
11y
40
Mummer was a spasm of uncertainty, Partridge caught between imitating former glories and sketching out the new style.
1y
Really really really underrated release from XTC. Going through their discography I didn't think this would be much of a standout considering the low amount of ratings it had, but this shows the band making their full exit from the new wave/post punk scene they built their image upon and going for the psychedelic pop and folky sounds they'd become accustomed to later in their career.
While some of these sounds were definitely touched upon in their previous sprawling double album ... read more
I like this XTC album from 83 with its oriental sounding opener and the nine following, mainly "pop with more or less psychedelic touch" songs (please notice there are different releases with additional tracks issued, the vinyl format with ten tracks is sufficient enough). My hints for a first listening would be "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and "Lady Bird" - whereas "Deliver Us From the Elements", "Human Alchemy" only afterwards, in between ... read more
Something must’ve been remiss in the air for XTC in ‘83 & ‘84, because Mummer and the record that follows it serve to seriously dismantle an otherwise near-flawless string of records. Mummer isn’t awful… but compared to the witty, offbeat, and sharp projects that surround it, it’s lesser, to say the least
This is a really good album and now that I’m more acclimated to the sound that XTC will be going in seemingly, I can enjoy it a good bit. The only song bringing it down is Human Alchemy which is by far the worst song on the album.
Really really really underrated release from XTC. Going through their discography I didn't think this would be much of a standout considering the low amount of ratings it had, but this shows the band making their full exit from the new wave/post punk scene they built their image upon and going for the psychedelic pop and folky sounds they'd become accustomed to later in their career.
While some of these sounds were definitely touched upon in their previous sprawling double album ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Beating of Hearts 4:01 | 80 |
| 2 | Wonderland 4:43 | 89 |
| 3 | Love on a Farmboy's Wages 3:58 | 90 |
| 4 | Great Fire 3:47 | 89 |
| 5 | Deliver Us from the Elements 4:34 | 81 |
| 6 | Human Alchemy 5:11 | 73 |
| 7 | Ladybird 4:32 | 81 |
| 8 | In Loving Memory of a Name 3:16 | 81 |
| 9 | Me and the Wind 4:16 | 78 |
| 10 | Funk Pop a Roll 3:01 | 79 |
Total Length: 41 minutes
