Mother Mother - O My Heart
Review by Jack Foley
VANCOVER quintet Mother Mother finally arrive in the UK with a chorus of approval ringing in their ears from their exploits on the other side of the Atlantic. It’s fully deserved.
Revered for their original approach to modern pop/rock music, which seems them mixing appealing vocal harmonies with clever, offbeat lyricism and dynamic instrumentation, they are already developing a following thanks to the success of singles like Hay Loft and its infectious “Daddy’s got a gun” chorus.
But while that’s a spiky slice of rock, with angular riffs and punky vocals, there’s much more to them than that.
Rather, their diversity is one of the more appealing aspects of listening to the album, O My Heart, which mixes raw, fun pop moments with others of quieter intimacy and more besides.
Wisdom, for instance, builds from a slow mix of acoustic guitars and cute vocals into a carnival style romp complete with brass flourishes. The boy-girl mix of vocals between Ryan and Molly Guldemond is utterly appealing, while the chorus is another gem.
There’s a dusky, bluesy quality to another favourite, the hangdog Burning Pile, which finds Molly in terrific form, especially when delivering lines like “all my troubles on the burning pile, all lit up and I start to smile… throw my troubles at the pearly gates”.
While there’s an upbeat, foot-tapping vibe surrounding Body of Years, which marries a pulsating bassline with some cool synth flourishes. It’s another of the album’s genuinely catchy moments, with another kick-ass chorus.
The intimate side to Mother Mother is fully on show on the sombre Try to Change, while their ear for the cinematic is evident during the opening moments of Ghosting, which blossoms into a lush acoustic gem that’s utterly charming (a point underlined by the strings that begin to swirl as the track hits the four minute mark).
Banjos, meanwhile, take centre stage on the utterly brilliant Wrecking Ball… one of the album’s really killer tracks.
But in truth, no matter what style their employing, or form of instrumentation, Mother Mother are pretty much on fire with this latest album.
Don’t let O My Heart pass you by!
Download picks: Burning Pile, Body of Years, Hay Loft, Wrecking Ball, Ghosting, Wisdom, Sleep Awake
Track listing: