Mimas (band)

Mimas is a Danish band, based in Aarhus. The band comprises Iceland-born Snævar Njáll Albertsson (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Daniel Malling Beck (guitars, vocals, glockenspiel), Gert Hoberg Jørgensen (bass, vocals), and Lasse Dahl (drums, vocals). Mimas signed to Big Scary Monsters Recording Company in 2008, and their debut album The Worries was released on October 6, 2008. The quartet has also signed to the French label Distile Records who released the album in Europe and in the U.S. in 2009. Their second album Lifejackets was released in October 2010.

History

Mimas has existed, in some form or another, since 2001, and previously went under the name Astronaut, but the original lineup - the current lineup plus Kenn Hedegaard Eskildsen (keyboards, synths, samples) - wasn't cemented until around 2005. On April 1, 2005, the band self-released their debut EP Hands Will Carry, which received positive reviews^[1]. One track from the EP, "Thought Discuss", was released by British record label Worst Case Scenario in 2006. The EP's reputation secured the band a slot on the bill at Roskilde Festival 2005. Furthermore, the band have also played with bands such as Mono, Menomena, This Town Needs Guns and Why?. In 2007, the band released a "teaser" CD of songs from their forthcoming album, which was sold at shows on that summer's UK tour. However, upon returning to Denmark, the band decided to re-record all the songs they had completed thus far.

The Worries (2008-2009)

In early 2008, Eskildsen left the band, in an amicable split, and the band continued work on songs for their debut album. The album was completed in the spring of 2008, and the band subsequently signed with BSM. The Worries was released on October 6, 2008. Reviews of the album so far have generally been extremely positive.^[2] In Summer 2009 Mimas completed their "Mimas and Papas European Tour 2009", although they were forced to abandon their van (known by the band and their fans as Satan) after it broke down in Spain, just a few days before the final show. In October 2009 they returned to the UK for a 5-date tour with Birmingham based math-rockers (and fellow BSM signings) Shapes.

Lifejackets (2009 - present)

Following extensive UK and European touring in support of The Worries, Mimas returned to Aarhus to begin work on their second album, which was written and recorded throughout 2009 and early 2010. Throughout this period, their live show featured several of the new songs, such as Sodapop Stalkers and Rotting Rodents, which were being played live as early as September 2008. In mid-2010, they announced that the album would be titled Lifejackets, and would be released by BSM in the UK, and Pad and Pen records in Europe. It was released in October 2010.

Musical style

While many journalists have been quick to label Mimas' style as Post-Rock, the band have recently preferred to use the phrase "Death-Indie" to describe their music. Indeed, earlier Mimas songs (up to and including those from the Hands Will Carry era) fitted better into the Post-Rock template, while the more recent songs have shown a departure from this original style. The band list their main influences as Do Make Say Think, Why?, Mogwai and Pavement. It is often noted that Mimas' sound has more in common with the music of Iceland than Denmark, and the band have put this down to vocalist Albertsson's Icelandic heritage.^[3]

References

1. ^ http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Reviews/2007/tabid/80/ctl/Details/mid/441/ItemID/854/Default.aspx
2. ^ http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/99972-mimas-debut-album-uk-tour.html
3. ^ http://mimasblogblogblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/mimas-interview.html

External links

• Official website
• Mimas myspace page
• Mimas official blog