It’s been a long time coming, but Danish/Icelandic “death-indie” group Mimas have finally released their third album Strong Ties. It’s the closest thing to heavy that the band have released, and is pretty great. Mimas albums have usually contained two distinct types of songs, heavy and not, but Strong Ties blends the two together in individual songs very successfully. As a result, the songs sound more complete than previous offerings, and ordered chaos reigns.

My first reaction to opening track “Tiger Shark” was that this was basically another Dad Rocks! (singer Snaevar Albertsson’s folky side project) album. However, this feeling dissipates fairly rapidly, before the end of the first song. The single “Kissinger’s Jaw” is up next; Snaevar’s lyrics taking on a more raspy tone than usual. Whilst shouting has been present a lot in Mimas songs, it’s has always felt controlled, whereas “Kissinger’s Jaw” sounds a lot more primal and desperate.

“Astrin” and “Facebreaker” are catchy math pop songs reminiscent of Colour or even early This Town Needs Guns. By the time “Don’t Be Evil” rolls around the album is really picking up steam. This is probably my favourite song on the album; the balance between pop and mayhem is perfect, and it really cements Mimas as probably the best at what they do.

“24-hour Asshole” slows the album down with a bit of vintage Mimas; scarce drums and bass give way to lots of finger picking. But the album speeds up again and the minimalist approach makes the songs “Dark Language” and “No, Daniel Is An Island” all the more epic. References to of Sigur Ros and Mermonte are present, but they are combined with catchy sing-a-long choruses.

As per usual, Mimas’ last track “Palestine” is a lot slower than the rest of the album. It’s full of emotion, and is a perfect closer to the album.

If you’re already a fan of Mimas, you’ll like this, and if you haven’t heard them before, definitely give Strong Ties a go. It’s probably their strongest album, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out their back catalogue if you like it.

– Alex Ryan