I’m not the biggest Mother Mother fan, but their discography has its way of creeping up on me whenever I’m going through a dramatic new phase of my life. Up until recently, it had been “Explode” haunting my replays. So when “Love to Death” came on in my recommended, I expected it to be another old song I’d missed out on. Nope — dropping alongside “Make Believe,” it’s one of two singles showcasing their upcoming Nostalgia album.
The band has a variety of styles to enjoy: their original southern gothic, bluegrass-inspired aesthetic, their soft indie rock ballads, to their more intense electric rock influences. Most of their discography can be sorted into a few broad “kinds” of songs, a phenomenon made possible by the extensive eras each sound occupies. You probably know Mother Mother best for their folksy sound; “Hayloft” was major only a couple years ago, reignited by the release of “Hayloft II,” and “Oh Ana” is another classic example from their debut album. Sometimes, you’ll get a glimpse of their more extravagant indie style with hits like “Problems,” a song popularized by trends of OC edits representing the “sinner and saint” subjects.
With this in mind, I listened to both singles and wondered where to categorize them. As opposed to most previous albums (which tend to stick to one aspect of their sound), I was hearing two very different sides of Mother Mother back to back. And for the first time in ages, I was hearing the folksy side of things again!
The singles release is titled “Love to Death,” after the arguably better of the two tracks. The layered vocals in “Love to Death” are nothing novel to the band, but they call back to the haunting chorus of albums like Touch Up and O My Heart. Its country stylistics remind me why acoustic guitars belong in the rock scene. One of my favorite parts of the song would be the pre-chorus — the attitude that Guldemond, lead singer, puts into the phrase is a signature part of the band’s brand. And despite being more rooted in the band’s original sound, there are still dreamlike elements that tie it to the new and middle eras of their discography. It gives me hope for a renewal of the sound they became famous for!
“Make Believe” pushes the energy more into the frenetic sound of later Mother Mother, at first reminding me of their 2017 album No Culture. The repetitive (but catchy) chorus is punctuated by interjections of spoken song that vary the pacing enough to make the 3 minute song go by in a snap. Its leading synth is accented by an appropriate amount of autotune vocals to heighten the surrealism of the song, only to be grounded by a gravelly bass riff 2/3rds through. Though stylistically I prefer the feel of the first track, there’s no doubt that this song’s composition is lock-tight.
If the album title wasn’t a hint enough, I’d guess that Nostalgia may be a revisitation of a number of their classic song formats, and I’m glad for it. Going through and scrounging through their discography for this article not only unearthed some of my old middle school favorites, but gave me some new tracks (check “Original Spin”) that had been hiding under their bigger hits. The full album is set to release on June 6th, so I am preemptively considering this UCSD’s little finals week treat. If these songs are any indicator of what’s to come, this may be another landmark moment in the band’s career. But don’t take my word for it: go listen for yourself!
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