Mr. and Mrs. Muffins

“Have you ever heard an album for the very first time that exactly fits the mood you are in?

I was lucky enough to have such an album come my way in this last week from those lovely people at Folkwit Records that is so enchanting,beautiful & beguiling it has not been off my stereogram radio-matic ipod ghetto boom box thing ever since it landed.

It’s called ‘The Raindrop Dance & Other Songs about Love’ and its from Seattle based storytellers Mr. and Mrs. Muffin and we at FOTN think its something you may well find yourselves smitten with.

I have been incorporating the sounds of my melodica into my own music recently and so I fell hook,line and sinker for the melodica loveliness of opening track ‘The Magic Cloud’ and never looked back.

This album is gentle,relaxing and wondrous,just like a mini fairytale orchestra is performing for you in your living room.

Totally enchanting.”
– http://freshonthenet.co.uk/mr-mrs-muffin/ - Fresh on the Net

“Really beautiful stuff.” - Pull Up The Roots

Time will tell if the musical formula is one that will provide longevity for Mr. & Mrs. Muffins, and basing judgement on that old adage that involves poison and pleasure, this may well be an album that unsurprisingly develops a cult status.”
– Phil Carter, FATEA - FATEA

“If Ivor and Viv were alive they would thoroughly approve.”
– Russ The French Flyer, DJ - Russ the French Flyer, DJ

(Google Translate from Italian to English)

"It's always harder to believe in dreams, we've left them in the drawer of memories of our childhood or in a cardboard box we do not open anymore, but we have no courage to throw it away, yet only for a moment it would be nice to rediscover the sweet taste of the first tears and the irrepressible laughter of the first joys.
Noah Wilson and Sofiariantika Primananda-Wilson had already tried with "The Raindrop Dance And Other Songs About Love," but their exhortation was suspended in a golden limbo, where only a few elected were allowed to enter. Now, their little orchestra is back with an even more ambitious and evocative album.

Accompanied by a fine book of 24 pages, "The Misty Cowboy And Other Songs To Dream By" continues uncompromisingly in search of a surreal symphony for childhood, a kaleidoscopic sound where Fellini meets Burt Bacharach, Michel Legrand and Ennio Morricone without give up small exotic sound fragments.

Imagine High Llamas with Astrud Gilberto ("The Little Red Fox"), Beach Boys orchestrated by Danny Elfman ("The Dreamiest Street"), Erik Satie played by Riz Ortolani ("The Music Box") or Cab Calloway along with Free Design ("The How Do You Do Song") and you will understand what's on the pages of Mr & Mrs Muffins' new album.
The two Seattle musicians are full of hands in western music by quoting Morricone ("The Misty Cowboy") but also by other masters of the music library made in Italy as Nino Rota ("The Cat's Holiday"), always preserving that dreamy lightness that sounds all like an alien or forgotten artifact.

"The Misty Cowboy And Other Songs To Dream By" is like a forgotten and hidden place, where Burt Bacharach and Steely Dan are exchanging harmony tricks ("The Enchanted Dreamer") or where to let go of joys swing ("The Carefree Day") then take a guitar and try again to leave the room "It's Such A Good Feeling". An album that you will not find in any end-of-year list, or in an expert forum, but the music of Mr & Mrs Muffins is one of the few able to get you out of the greed of mediocrity: you win dreams.
(9/7/2014)


E’ sempre più difficile credere nei sogni, li abbiamo lasciati nel cassetto dei ricordi della nostra infanzia o in una scatola di cartone che non apriamo più, ma che non abbiamo il coraggio di buttare via, eppure solo per un attimo sarebbe bello poter riscoprire il sapore dolceamaro delle prime lacrime e la risata irrefrenabile delle prime gioie.

Noah Wilson e Sofiariantika Primananda-Wilson ci avevano già provato con “The Raindrop Dance And Other Songs About Love”, ma la loro esortazione è rimasta sospesa in un limbo dorato, dove solo a pochi eletti è stato permesso entrare. Ora, la loro piccola orchestra è tornata con un album ancor più ambizioso e suggestivo.

Accompagnato da un pregevole libro di 24 pagine, “The Misty Cowboy And Other Songs To Dream By” prosegue senza compromessi nella ricerca di una surreale sinfonia per l’infanzia, un suono caleidoscopico dove Fellini incontra Burt Bacharach, Michel Legrand ed Ennio Morricone, senza rinunciare a piccoli frammenti sonori esotici.
Immaginate gli High Llamas con Astrud Gilberto (“The Little Red Fox”), i Beach Boys orchestrati da Danny Elfman (“The Dreamiest Street”), Erik Satie interpretato da Riz Ortolani (“The Music Box”) o Cab Calloway insieme ai Free Design (“The How Do You Do Song”) e comprenderete cosa vi attende nelle pagine del nuovo album di Mr & Mrs Muffins.
I due musicisti di Seattle pescano a piene mani nella musica western citando Morricone (“The Misty Cowboy”) ma anche altri maestri della music library made in Italy come Nino Rota (“The Cat's Holiday”), sempre conservando quella leggerezza onirica che fa suonare il tutto come un manufatto alieno o dimenticato.

“The Misty Cowboy And Other Songs To Dream By” è come un luogo dimenticato e nascosto, dove si assiste all'incontro tra Burt Bacharach e gli Steely Dan che si scambiano trucchi armonici (“The Enchanted Dreamer”) o dove lasciarsi andare alle gioie dello swing (“The Carefree Day”) per poi prendere in mano una chitarra e provare ancora una volta a lasciare fuori dalla stanza il mondo degli adulti (“It's Such A Good Feeling”). Un album che non ritroverete in nessuna lista di fine anno, né in un forum di esperti, ma la musica di Mr & Mrs Muffins è una delle poche capaci di tirarvi fuori dal grigiore della mediocrità: fate vincere i sogni.
(07/09/2014) - OndaRock.it