NICO MUHLY: Mothertongue

By Lyndsey Matthews

July 23, 2008
Originally published at CMJ.com

This second album from Philip Glass protege Nico Muhly is composed of three songs broken into smaller sections, all recorded in Iceland. The country which produced Bjork and Sigur Ros seems to have similarly left its mark on Muhly, as he adds whimsical and airy vocals to his epic compositions. Muhly met up with producer Valgeir Sigurdsson, who was Bjork's studio engineer for many years, while he recorded piano parts for one of her albums.

On the title track, phone numbers, addresses and capitals of West African countries, culled from Muhly's memory, pitter-patter on top of lush orchestrations. "The Only Tune" is a macabre folk song about a girl drowned by her sister. Its beautiful melody exquisitely masks the chilling story. At other times, subtle musical allusions parallel the lyrics perfectly at key moments. When a fiddle bow is made from the dead girl's long yellow hair, a cello muses eerily in the background. Delicate details like that prove Muhly's prowess in taking simple stories and spinning them into grand opuses.


Tracklist For Mothertongue :

01. Mothertongue: I. Archive
02. Mothertongue: II. Shower
03. Mothertongue: III. Hress
04. Mothertongue: IV. Monster
05. Wonders: I. New Things And New Tidings
06. Wonders: II. The Devil Appear'd In The Shape Of A Man
07. Wonders: III. A Complaint Against Thomas Weelkes
08. The Only Tune: I. The Two Sisters
09. The Only Tune: II. The Old Mill Pond
10. The Only Tune: III. The Only Tune


Web: nicomuhly.com