Mother Mother - Eureka
Review by Jack Foley
CANADIAN avante pop quintet Mother Mother delivered one of our favourite albums of 2010 with their sophomore session Oh My Heart. With their third, Eureka, they look set to repeat the trick.
Produced by the band’s own Ryan Guldemond and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Franz Ferdinand), the album offers a hook-laden pop-meets-rock collection of songs that further combine clever and sometimes eccentric lyrics with intricate harmonies.
The trademark mix of boy-girl vocals between siblings Molly and Ryan also works well, lending each track its own identity and excitement. For it’s a compliment to state that Mother Mother never do what’s expected or follow into any one routine.
Rather, this is a lively and constantly evolving listen that hooks from the start with the ramshackle Chasing It Down, complete with formidable organ hook.
The Stand, meanwhile, delivers an early favourite courtesy of a rousing guitar intro and a cute exchange of vocal duties: Molly asking the questions that Ryan answers. For instance: “Talk about space… well, it’s a beautiful place”. The intricate instrumentation that accompanies it is often thrilling.
Baby Don’t Dance follows with yet more rousing licks, an electronic arrangement that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Cars record, a yelping ‘woo-hoo’ and a rousing central vocal from Ryan that gives rise to a kick-ass chorus.
Original Spin, meanwhile, begins with a genuinely thrilling guitar rock-out, before settling into more pop territory (complete with a highly melodic chorus) and some wilfully eccentric lyrics; Born In A Flash slows things down for a ballad of sorts that comes complete with sombre piano chords, haunted vocals, lush strings and more fine guitar solos, and Simply Simple is a fresh blast of pure pop-rock that’s utterly dreamy.
Elsewhere, Aspiring Fires opens with another thrilling piano arrangement before offering a mid-tempo duet that has kooky classic written all over it, and Getaway is an ode to escapism that finds Molly taking sweet centre-stage. It’s a great holiday record, or one to flit away those mental troubles.
But in reality, Mother Mother barely put a foot wrong throughout. We love Eureka!
Download picks: The Stand, Baby Don’t Dance, Born In A Flash, Simply Simple, Aspiring Fires, Getaway, Calm Me Down
Track listing: