Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK is the debut studio album by Icelandic band Múm. It was released on 23 December 1999 by TMT Entertainment.

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Guardian
Mojo
Muzik4/5
NME8/10
Pitchfork9.1/10
Tiny Mix Tapes4.5/5

Reviewing Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK for AllMusic, Tim DiGravina found the music "effortlessly timeless and thoroughly engrossing" and called the album "an unmitigated, accessible masterpiece." Matt LeMay of Pitchfork deemed it "one of the most deeply, purely emotionally affecting albums of the year."

In 2005, Múm performed Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back concert series. On 30 August 2019, Morr Music released a 20th anniversary remastered edition of the album, which included remixes and reinterpretations of the album's songs as bonus tracks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, Gunnar Örn Tynes, Gyða Valtýsdóttir and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir.

No.TitleLength
1."I'm 9 Today"4:42
2."Smell Memory"9:23
3."There Is a Number of Small Things"6:32
4."Random Summer"3:12
5."Asleep on a Train"7:17
6."Awake on a Train"9:23
7."The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records"5:25
8."The Ballad of the Broken String"4:45
9."Sunday Night Just Keeps on Rolling"8:10
10."Slow Bicycle"8:47
Total length:67:36
20th anniversary edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records" (Ruxpin remix II)5:13
12."Smell Memory" (Bix remix)5:14
13."There Is a Number of Small Things & The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records" (µ-Ziq Straight mix)8:01
14."The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records" (Biogen mix)5:24
15."Smell Memory" (Kronos Quartet rework)9:34
16."Random Summer" (Hauschka rework)3:53
17."The Ballad of the Broken String" (Sóley rework)4:08
Total length:109:03

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Additional musicians

  • Helga Björg Arnardóttir – clarinet on "There Is a Number of Small Things" and "Awake on a Train"
  • Sigríður Geirsdóttir – strings on "Awake on a Train"
  • Hildur Guðnadóttir – strings on "Awake on a Train"
  • Stefán Már Magnússon – guitar on "Awake on a Train"
  • Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson – trumpet on "Awake on a Train"
  • Gróa Margrét Valdimarsdóttir – strings on "Awake on a Train"

Production

  • Finnur Björnsson – mixing, recording
  • Finnur Hákonarson – recording
  • Múm – mixing, recording

Design

  • Arnaldur Hilmisson – artwork
  • Múm – artwork

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
Iceland23 December 1999CDLPTMT
United Kingdom19 June 2000CDTugboat
Japan25 September 2001P-Vine
Various4 October 2005CDLPMorr
Japan21 September 2007CDP-Vine
17 October 2012Hostess
Various30 August 2019CDLPcassettedigital downloadstreamingMorr

External links