Mus: La Vida

Spanish band Mus offer up an ambient and at times hypnotic release that has an aura of simplistic beauty about it. The vocals from singer Monica Vacas are delivered in the Spanish dialect of Asturias, an autonomous community in Spain that dates back to the Middle Ages. Songs such as “Cantares de ciegu” and “Una ventana con lluz” offer up a distinctly Mazzy Starr type of vibe, with Vacas’ voice in deep reverb over soft, clean guitars, while the drums are played with brushes. “Una sabana al vientu”, the single, has a nice dream-pop quality, with synths that perhaps conjure angels drifting through the sky at twilight.

Vacas has a delicate voice that at times recalls Bjork, but she never cuts loose like the Icelandic pop princess. “Perdieron y la tierra” picks things up a bit with some shimmery guitar and a steady beat, while Vacas provides some airy vocals. The song has a psychedelic vibe that wouldn’t be out of place on an album coming out of San Francisco in the 1960s. Mus’ Spanish label Green UFOs specializes in pop, folk and electronica and many of the tracks here are of a decidedly ambient nature. There’s not much to dance to here, but La Vida could make for some mellow vibes at the hash bar or your local rave’s chill room, or perhaps as accompaniment to sitting out in nature late at night watching the sky for those green UFOs.