It is easy now to see why at the time this release got delayed in the U.S. until June of 1983. I was a huge fan of XTC by then and was just waiting and waiting for their next release and did not understand why a band who seemed to be gaining momentum (Senses Working Overtime was a big hit in England and on new wave stations and other cuts were played a lot) would have a problem getting an L.P. released. I got the lead off single on import (Great Fire) and liked it a lot even if it did kind of seem somewhat of a "Senses" rewrite.
It was only when I heard it that it all started to make sense. Think of the big new wave hits in 1983. Synth groups like Eurythmics, Human League, and Naked Eyes were riding the chart as well as the pop confections of Duran Duran and Culture Club. Then put the needle to the record for "Beating of Hearts". A Middle Eastern flavored song that is about as far as you could stray from the current trends. It had the sound of something written by madman in isolation which is part of why it and in general Mummer is so special.
Nothing contained here is in any way, shape, or form in step with the times. The record manages to go from back and forth from being very pastoral to very dark and menacing. "Human Alchemy" is dark, brooding, and haunting both musically and its subject matter. Also very dark is "Deliver Us From the Elements". On the complete other side of the Spectrum Andy's "Ladybird" and Colin's "Wonderland" are touching ballads but again not anything that would have found commercial favor in 1983. Elsewhere there is the delightful folk oriented "Love On A Farmboys Wages" and the one hint of the old XTC with the music industry tirade "Funk Pop-A-Roll" which finds Andy spewing venom about the industry that had already poisoned him.
So once again XTC does not disappoint and in fact I am glad they did not try to sell out and become big hit makers (Not likely given the fact that they were not touring anyway). This was like a breath of fresh air among all the over synthesized processed music that was landscaping the music charts that year.
