A music blog dedicated to my ever-expanding tastes. A musical journey with endless pitstops along the way. Bringing you the best of what I see and hear.
Originally starting as a solo artist in Athens, Georgia before adopting the moniker Mothers, it seems as though singer/songwriter Kristine Leschpher is returning to creating music under her own name. While last year Leschper realized track "Something Like An Exit" as part of a pretty expansive 30 song covid-19 fundraiser for Kasra Kurt and Ada Babar's Nino Tomorrow label, Leschper has also announced new single "Figure & I".
From the earliest days of Mothers, Leschpher has returned to the body as a songwriting subject and both "Something Like An Exit" and "Figure & I" share that focus in different ways. In "Something Like An Exit", accompanied by a soft bed of synths, Leschper sings about catching her own reflection. Mirrors and other reflective surfaces - in this case a window, are treated as portals outside of the self even as you use them to view the self. The song buoys between whether that's necessarily a good or bad thing - "whats the point? Building yourself a beautiful box with no entrance". Whether you're preening yourself in a mirror or fully accepting how you look in it, there no escaping your own body. Where that was used for drama in Mothers' "Beauty Routine", here it's delivered as a soothing admission.
"Figure & I" is perhaps the most succinct Leschper's been with her words. "Figure and I, it's not always hard to find time to be alive" are the track's lyrics and she delivers them in different inflections, with clapping and vibraphone providing percussion. It's brief, it's vague, but transfixing - there's no answers to the question the lyrics raise - even as Lescpher, with the aid of Sammy Weissberg and Garrett Blake craft a multi-layered dream-pop tapestry.
"Something Like An Exit" and "Figure & I" are out now.
While the debut full length album from Philadelpha via Athens experimental rock quartet MothersWhen You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired seesawed between sparse introspective lyrical moments and complex, interwoven instrumental pyrotechnics, one of the main differences I've noticed between the debut and previous singles "BLAME KIT" and "PINK" from Mothers' upcoming sophomore full length Render Another Ugly Method has been an all-hands-on-deck type of inclusion. Where their debut often saw Kristine Leschper's vocals under a perennial spotlight that occasionally saw the band lessening their intensity, on Render Another Ugly Method, the foursome have established a new dynamic: one that lauches Leschper's vocals right into the dense, instrumental din.
"BEAUTY ROUTINE", the third single and opening track from the forthcoming record establishes an unexpected moment of quiet, much more reminiscent of their debut while featuring the much more fractured lyrical style that Leschper's been exploring on this new record. Much like "PINK" was a series of vignettes, strung together by the particular feelings they evoked in Leschper, "BEAUTY ROUTINE" follows a similar style of disjointed narrative structure. There's no chorus, or even vaguely conventional approach to songwriting here as Leschper stretches and elongates the delivery of two rather brief verses. But much like an actual beauty routine, Leschper's lyrical delivery is methodical, gradually building and the rest of Mothers follow suit. It's not until almost two minutes in where the band snap into action from their previously listless expansiveness. Unsurprisingly it's also where Leschper turns her lyrical focus outward. It is slight but "BEAUTY ROUTINE" falls into Leschper's pervasive interest in the body as a malleable thing: capable of being expanded and contracted, and even abandoned completely. The first verse - aloft in a dissociative haze before a moment of jarring self-consciousness shifts the focus towards actually engaging with another person as the second verse's lyrics are about the self but delivered outside of the self. Much of the ethos of "BEAUTY ROUTINE" is a matter of Leschper's thought process during its composition but she lets others in, and none too gently with the song's final line: "Show me a beauty routine to erase me completely".
The music video, directed Jake Lazovick and Richard Phillip Smith, is a case of the visual enhancing the audio aspect as the ideas behind the track become the video's sole focus. Leschper carries a small hand mirror with her, glancing at herself in it but from the audience's perspective, you never get a good view of what she sees and the glances you steal into the mirror they appear to be reflecting something completely other than Leschper. Eventually Leschper does away with the actual mirror and decides to create a homemade mannequin in her own image: she gives it her own hair, models its appendages after her own and even dresses it up in her own clothes essentially creating the image she hopes to see in the hand mirror. Much like the video for "PINK" which was also directed by Lazovick and Smith, there's a creeping sense of malaise that lingers until the very conclusion.
Render Another Ugly Method, Mothers' sophomore full length album is out September 7th on Anti- Records.
One of the things I immediately noticed about "BLAME KIT" and now "PINK", the two first singles from Philly experimental rockers Mothers upcoming sophomore record Render Another Ugly Method, was how lyrically dense the songs are. It's not that singer/songwriter Kristin Leschper wasn't a particularly obtuse writer previously, but When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired seemed to strike a particular balance of even her most abstract lyrics fitting suspiciously smooth into each song's particular narrative. On "PINK" and perhaps indicative of Render Another Ugly Method in general, Leschper's isn't particularly bothered by framing things in a tidy, coherent structure. Instead Leschper achieves a sort of stream of consciousness expanse tethered by a particularly methodical delivery. Perhaps more so than ever, Leschper outfits her voice like another instrument in the band - less concerned with it's softer, more fragile qualities and instead exploring how it can feed into a band in motion. Where previously there seemed to be an ebb and flow between the instrumental parts of Mothers' songs to provide room for Leschper's delicate vocals, here they're a part of the din.
Where "BLAME KIT" seemed concerned with the body - ways that external stimulus effect it in the form of positive and negative attention, "PINK" is concerned with time. Leschper again experiments with song structure in her lyrics and stitches a series of memories together all bound by their relation to cars. It's a song containing a great deal of tension - it's nearly 7 minutes operating at much of it's initial tempo. For a band like Mothers that revels into dynamics, it's a surprising move but one that builds even more tension through the subversion of expectation.
The music video, directed by Jake Lazovik and Richard Phillip Smith, capitalizes on that drawn out sense of tension placing Leschper in a waiting room for what indeterminable about of time but the viewer sees through a window and how the light affects her, that the passage of time. It's subtle but there's an element of uncomfortableness not unlike a psychological thriller as slightly weirder things start to happen in the room. Leschper dodges a cinderblock wrapped in yellow balloons and while this moments would normally warrant a big reaction, it's treated as a normal occurrence and as such the music doesn't change to soundtrack it. Where the viewer serves largely as a voyeur to Leschper's patient stay, the action both in the music and its video are initiated and dictated through her. When she suddenly cranes her neck in alarm towards the window, the tension reaches a breaking point and the song finally gives in to a dramatic shift. It's a sort of release of the build up and yet, the video instead creates more: Leschper's startled face appears on the room's sole television screen, her dropped plastic cup gets an almost unsettling closeup.
Render Another Ugly Method, Mothers' sophomore record and ANTI- records debut is out September 7th. You can pre-order the record now.
Since the release of their debut album When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired as well as their subsequent move from Athens, Georgia to Philadelphia, I've wondered what is next for Mothers, the project of singer/songwriter Kristine Leschper. The answer is given in "BLAME KIT", the first single from the quartet's forthcoming sophomore record and ANTI debut Render Another Ugly Method. I've always considering Mothers at their most experimental and technically complex to be reminiscent of fellow Philly rockers Palm (unsurprisingly they've toured together) and "BLAME KIT" sees Mothers diving deeper into their most innovative impulses. While When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired was a delicate tightrope walk between Leschper's crystalline vocals and emotive narratives with the band's intricately layer math pop, "BLAME KIT" sees the band as a unit shift into overdrive: Leschper's usually unadorned vocals arrive through a thin layer of effects and momentarily suspending her languorous delivery in favor of a swifter. But Mothers are a band that revels in dynamic options and the initial fervor subsides for a syrupy slow-down.
Though on their debut, Leschper sang freely of emotional reckonings both within herself and directed towards others, a smaller thread throughout (even offered in opening track "Too Small For Eyes") is Leschper's interest in the body both as a concept and a vessel for ideas. "BLAME KIT" and Render Another Ugly Method expands that into a full on thesis and in its more sedate second half "BLAME KIT" finds Leschper cooing "Not the first time I've watched her body expand a human times it's size to contain everything". Leschper treats the body as a Universe unto itself, containing multitudes that render things outside of it rather inconsequential and yet "BLAME KIT" sees Leschper seeking to establish the idea of a societal measure of things like guilt and blame. This juxtaposition of radically different ideas is nothing new for Leschper and Mothers.
Mothers' itself is a band of composed of conflicting ideas and methods - the solo stylings of Leschper not entirely excised from its DNA, the band balances moments of collaboration and artistic isolation. The intensity of many of Mothers' prog-reminiscent breakdowns often existing without Leschper's vocals. "BLAME KIT" and Render Another Ugly Method essentially seek to expand and collapse distinctive dissonances.
Mothers' sophomore full length album Render Another Ugly Method will be out September 7th on ANTI-, you can pre-order it now. The band will be touring pretty extensively this Summer opening for Japanese Breakfast and Lucy Dacus before embarking on a headlining tour this Fall. You can check dates on Mothers' official website here.
I don't think anyone who pays any attention to music trends could've have predicted that after last year's terrific year that we were poised for another great year for music and yet here we are. 2016 offered up an absolute smorgasbord of releases for music lovers of every possible type: Rihanna, Gaga, and Zayn for the pop obsessed; ANOHNI, Okkervil River, Radiohead, for the indie lover; Beyonce, Blood Orange, and Solange for the politically minded. And yet this year, like almost every year, my favorite stand out albums happen to be ones that I felt were unfortunately overlooked. Considering how many good albums came out this year that's hardly surprising but hopefully this list of favorite album ranked in no particular order helps you find some truly great records that came out this year even if it's just a brief job down memory lane. Enjoy and as always feel free to chime in with your own.
Alex Izenberg - Harlequin
It's happened more times than I can count - an artist releases a single or several singles and either that single is the best song on the album by a strangely large margin or is just dramatically inconsistent with the songs on the album. In the case of Los Angeles singer/songwriter Alex Izenberg's debut full length Harlequin the singles "To Move On" and "Grace" do not prepare you at all for album in the best way. They paint a picture, intentionally, of your standard singer/songwriter crooning over guitar or piano with just the right amount of strings to ornament the song and give it added depth. And they're not entirely off base as Izenberg sets himself up to be just that but in an exciting twists glimpsed just barely in "Grace", Harlequin offers up something different: a wonderfully off-kilter experimentalism that finds itself in the wide majority of Izenberg's songwriting efforts. There's no attempts to hide it - album opening track "The Farm" sets the scene with dramatic string flourishes and highlighting Izenberg's distinct vocals. "Libra" and "Archer" inhabit that same realm of vivid dream-like imagery and its effectiveness heightened due to collaborator Ari Balouzian's arrangements. On Harlequin, Izenberg essentially breaks down many singer/songwriter tropes just by virtue of being himself - experimenting with sounds and textures as much if not more than his inventive lyricism.
Andy Shauf - The Party
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Andy Shauf's latest effort The Party is just how steep his learning curve was that led to its creation. His debut full length The Bearer Of Bad News was the end result of 100 songs whittled down and still capable of forming coherent narratives and a cohesive flow. On The Party not only did Shauf work with far less songs but he aborted his original plans to record with an orchestra in favor of essentially handling the whole record himself while working although somewhat loosely in a concept. The Party succeeds on so many levels: the concept is simple but Shauf is able to do a lot with it: crafting characters and weaving tales that occasionally reoccur and intersect. His touch is light in every respect from the lyricism to the arrangement that it's immediately clear that's by design not lack of skill. It's impressive and engaging from start to finish and proof that Shauf is definitely a songwriter to watch.
Bayonne - Primitives
With an affinity for bedroom as well as experimental pop, I'm no stranger to loop based music and yet Primitives, the latest album from multi-instrumentalist/composer Roger Sellers, reinvigorates it in such a bold, yet understated way. The first album under his newly adopted Bayonne moniker, Sellers' manages to marry his study of minimalist music with pop songwriting and the result is a next level album that's intricate as well as exciting from beginning to end. Part of that is Sellers' own enthusiasm as he takes an active part in the layering and sequencing imbuing the electronic base with a live, human element that highlights the strengths in both while creating a sound that's new, exciting, and absolutely fascinating to dip into.
Big Thief - Masterpiece
My discovery of Big Thief is purely the result of their label Saddle Creek putting out releases from several of my favorite artists in the past that when they released the news that they were releasing Big Thief's debut album I made a note to check it out and I'm incredibly glad I did. Songwriting is nothing new to Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek who in addition to making music on their own also had another project together, and yet there's something in the alchemy of the full band that pulls even more intriguing songwriting out of Lenker and Meek. It's hard to imagine "Real Love", a beautiful song just lyrically speaking, without the rock grit. Masterpiece doesn't just succeed on those harder moments but also its lovelier, softer folk moments.
Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
After his amazing second mixtape Acid Rap, the only people who weren't eagerly anticipating not only its follow up but anything the man did next were people who hadn't heard his music before. From guest appearances on fellow Save Money members mixtapes to last year's Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment record, Chance The Rapper has been building up a golden reputation. Add an appearance on probably the best song on Kanye's Life Of Pablo "Ultralight Beam" and that's pretty much solidified it. Coloring Book finds Chance The Rapper in a considerably different place than he was three years ago and it shows. Coloring Book is a winning combination of fun and spirituality, social commentary and self critique. With an all star cast as well as highlighting some of Chicago's best up and comers, Coloring Book is a mature work of self growth. Chance is counting his blessings but literally and figuratively and sharing the fruits of his labor in a fashion that's downright celebratory. Each song paints a definitive picture of what Chance The Rapper's been up to for the last couple years and it's a joy to hear him return so absolutely triumphant. Label woes and brushes with drugs behind him, Chance The Rapper's Coloring Book celebrates the music, his city, his family and God in a way that even the most resolved atheist can get behind. In fact the most spiritual moments on the mixtape tend to be its highest points.
Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution
Despite being a Grammy award-winning artist, Esperanza Spalding is an artist that certainly no one is talking about as much as they should be. Perhaps it's because she's a jazz musician and most people only pretend to listen to jazz? Whatever the case, Spalding put out one of this year's best albums in the form of Emily's D+Evolution. It's a concept record of sorts but even without really knowing the concept which is Spalding inhabiting an alter ego of Emily, it's a record steeped in imagination as well as talent. Separated from the live show which plays much like musical theatre and provides context, it's songs are still just as strong. Beginning with an ode to creativity energy, Emily's D+Evolution is an album of rich ideological ideas and inventive lyricism that uses its roots in funk and jazz fusion to move it along. Spalding tackles deep subjects on the album but in such an unpretentious way that it's easy for the listener to miss them. It's an album that reveals more about itself and it's multitude of wonders the more time you spend with it.
Jinja Safari - Crescent Head (Crescent Sun/Crescent Moon)
Though singer/songwriters Marcus Azon and Pepa Knight met and formed the jungle pop quintet Jinja Safari in 2010, it wasn't until 2013 when they released their debut self-titled. Sure they had released two EPs and compilation double EP in the years prior but Jinja Safari was a milestone moment for the band after several high profile shows and festivals. Unfortunately it also signaled a sort of beginning of the end, the band took a hiatus to work on side projects and otherwise alleviate industry pressures and expectations. When the band reunited they started recording the tunes that would form their double album Crescent Head. Named after Azon and Knight's hometown and split into two parts Crescent Sun and Crescent Moon, the double album functions as love letter to the music they painstaking crafted, the fans that enjoyed it, and the band itself. It's deeply ambitious: Crescent Sun a collection of the more upbeat pop songs they're known for and Cresccent Moon a more restrained affair and yet it's masterfully done. Jinja Safari embody both the primal rhythms and jubilant energy and also making subtler, more mature musical choices. It's a shame it's their swan song since Crescent Head as a whole paints a picture of a band not only comfortable with their sounds and their choices but also a band that would continue to push itself in service to creating truly entertaining, enjoyable, and most importantly interesting music. It's a hell of a way to go out especially considering most band breakups don't come with such a thoughtful finale.
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Considering how practically flawless Kevin Morby's sophomore record Still Life was, I had high hopes for Singing Saw that even then were exceeded beyond my wildest dreams. Singing Saw finds Morby going grander and more cinematic with help from Sam Cohen of Yellowbirds refining his sound with effecting arrangements. Morby continues to be in rare form and his songs are as thoughtful as they are beautiful - capturing emotion stirring moments rather just telling interesting stories. There's a shift subtle as it may be in Morby's lyricism as Morby turns his gaze towards invoking a rich, balanced portrait of the human experience. And yet, there's still a little of both the reverential and referential in Morby as he calls back themes and subjects of Singing Saw on "Black Flowers" much like did on Still Life.
Kishi Bashi - Sonderlust
Perhaps the most enjoyable thing about following the career of multi-instrumentalist/producer Kishi Bashi is that none of his releases have sounded all that similar to one another. Sure two songs from his debut Room For Dream EP found their way on his debut full length 151a but were in an excitingly new context with newer songs. His sophomore effort Lighght somersaulted into Ishibashi's love of jazz fusion and prog rock and String Quartet Live! reimagined songs with string quartet accompaniment. Sonderlust is where Ishibashi hit the wall that so many artists normally hit between their first and second album. Where could he take his lush technicolored take on psychedelic dream pop while still staying true to his core sound as Kishi Bashi? The answer was inward. Ishibashi grounded his songs in his life and looked outside of his trademark violin gymnastics for inspiration. The result is an album rooted in real hopes and dreams that resonates. The sound is ambitious and yet not wholly detached from the jazz fusion and prog rock of Lighght. The lightness of tone and melody that characterized a lot of both 151a and Lighght is all but snuffed out returning briefly in the delightful album ender "Honeybody" and its use there is cathartic: the light at the end of the tunnel. Kishi Bashi believes in love and by focusing not only the bright butterflies fluttering feeling but on the actual work that must be put in to maintain it, Sonderlust ends up as an honest, sincere ode to it.
Lucius - Good Grief
Considering how all around great their debut record Wildewoman was Lucius had quite the task ahead of them avoiding a sophomore slump and less time to gather the songs to do so. But by staying the course even when they thought it would drive them insane, Lucius crafted a wonderful follow up that further expands their diverse sonic palette. The 60's girl group influence is still there but updated and not relied upon too heavily. Lucius focus on the real tumult and strife found in relationships to inform their songwriting and it elevates the moments of joyous celebration to ecstatic heights. Good Grief emphasizes the role of pain and struggle in making the moments of ease and comfort feel truly special.
Mal Devisa - Kiid
In this the age of the surprise album I think it's been forgotten that that's largely how music was released from less high profile artists. Indie bands that had no marketing budget, especially in the old Myspace days would just kind of release their music and hope that it'd reach the listeners that wanted it. And that's essentially how Mal Devisa released Kiid. Although truth be told it was a bit of an event among people who had actually seen her live and had been eagerly awaiting for her to release music. And Kiid doesn't disappoint. It captures Deja Carr's eclectic tastes and interests and offers them up in somewhat tidy package. Kiid goes from folky singer/singerwriter to fiery social commentary to deeply moving soul without ever feeling like it's trying too hard or doing too much. The album moves quick but it's not trying to lose you, Carr just has a lot to say and trusts your ability to keep up. It's a trust more art should have in its recipients and the result of that trust is a diverse offering of powerful songcraft.
Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
I have a bad habit of ignoring music my friends are listening to until an embarrassingly long time after the fact. My introduction to Margaret Glaspy was an attempt to course correct. My friend Jeanette of The Miscreant/Miscreant Records have nothing but good things to say about her and so I jumped into her music around the time of her second single and didn't look back. Glaspy is an amazing singer, songwriter, and guitarists. What charmed me, aside from the absolutely infectious melodies she builds her songs around, was a kind of don't-give-a-fuck quality to her singing that reminded me of Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel.... On that album in particular Apple contorted her voice: howled and screamed with no regard for sounding pretty. What mattered was a sincere portrayal of the emotions and Emotions and Math finds Glaspy embarking on a similar journey. It's a portrait of complex woman - a fierce badass still capable of being hurt and wanting to be loved.
Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
With singer/songwriter/poets like Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn ranking among my favorite artists, it's hardly surprising that upon learning that Kristine Leschper, the frontwoman of Athens, GA four piece Mothers, is a poet why their songs resonated so much with me. But while Marling's poetic lyricism tends toward vague realism and Flynn's often detached from the self entirely, the most enthralling aspect of Leschper is that many of the lyrics feel lived in. There's also the packaging: complex rhythm and intricate guitar riffs catapult quiet emotive moments into action. When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired tells many stories: of love wanted and rebuked, of crippling self-doubt, of those questionable choices we make despite swearing we know better and yet ultimately, it's one long quest of the self: of finding yourself within yourself and reckoning with it. That's why despite the album's numerous tales of fractured, failing relationships, it manages to be so hopeful and inspiring. Leschper's charted journey isn't about boyfriends and girlfriends - it's about disarming and reversing one of the album's first eye-opening lyrics: "I hate my body/I love your taste". By album's end the certainty of the self is all that's left; all that's real.
Wye Oak - Tween
The fact that Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have elected not to call Tween an album while initially confusing probably aids in its digestion. Essentially a collection of songs they had no home for, the fact that they don't consider it a full length or even a EP enables a sort of lowering of expectations that seems unworthy of how good Tween actually is. Recalling both Jenn Wasner's other side projects as well as Wye Oak's growth in general, it populates a unique place in the band's history in that it paints a picture of Wye Oak in transition. It might be an album of experiments and yet it's clear both in their decision to release it and the fact that songs like "If You Should See" and "Watching The Waiting" have made its way onto their setlists that it's a work of strong songcraft even managing to flow despite its various changes in sound and tone. With the exception of "Out Of Nowhere" which functions more as a place setting piece, Tween is a veritable feast of rock pop stunners. Wye Oak might not consider Tween to be a proper album but they've approached its creation with the same innovation and ear for melody that's made favorites out of their other proper albums.
Honorable Mentions: Adult Jazz - Earrings Off! EP
Anderson .Paak - Malibu
And The Kids - Friends Share Lovers
Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN
Christopher Tignor - Along A Vanishing Plane
Conveyor - Ready Not Ready
Damien Jurado - Visions of Us on the Land
Golden Suits - Kubla Khan
The Heligoats - Back To The Lake
Hiss Golden Messenger - Heart Like A Levee
Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch
Julia Jacklin - Don't Let The Kids Win
Kris Orlowski - Often In The Pause
Kyle Morton - What Will Destroy You
Laura Gibson - Empire Builder
Lucy Dacus - No Burden
Mandolin Orange - Blindfaller
Marissa Nadler - Strangers
Marlon Williams - Marlon Williams
Moses Sumney - Lamentations EP
Noname - Telefone
Peter Broderick - Partners
Pinegrove - Cardinal
Psychic Twin - Strange Diary
Radiation City - Synesthetica
Steve Gunn - Eyes On The Lines Sur Back - Kitsch EP
Tiny Ruins - Hurtling Through EP
Tuskha - Tushka
Uni Ika Ai - Keeping a Golden Bullseye in the Corner of My Mind
Considering that Athens, Georgia's quartet Mothers grew around singer/songwriter Kristine Leschper's solo endeavors, the choice to open their debut album When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired with the sparse, emotive "Too Small For Eyes" seems particularly inspired. For many it'll be first introduction they get to Mothers and the album opener is as close to the band's 2013 incarnation featuring solely Leschper as you're bound to get. "Too Small For Eyes", begins with a simple mandolin accompaniment that slowly but surely builds with each stanza until at the height of Leschper's insecurity laden lyrics there's the lushness of string section to confidently support Leschper's inner narrative. Though not quite to the effect as "Too Small For Eyes", When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired often pairs Leschper's narratives at their most cerebral and their most small with complex arrangements. And yet, the album isn't just a musical pity party in 8 parts. Songs like "It Hurts Until It Doesn't", the second song on the album and proper introduction to the full band, or "Nesting Behavior" reveals Leschper as balanced songwriter - unafraid to offer up her own flaws and doubts but also point out those of others.
Much of When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired relies on the juxtaposition of narratives, as the songs often form telling pairs building off each other's conflicts and resolutions. "It Hurts Until It Doesn't" acknowledges Leschper's character faults, only to surge forward in the fiery kiss-off of "Cooper Mines". "I felt your love for a little while but never had the guts to give myself up" Lescher laments in "It Hurt Until It Doesn't" while her retort of "What I have to give is small but at least I can admit it" in "Cooper Mines" is practically dripping with venom. And yet, Leschper proves herself capable of traversing those very same tonal differences in the course of a single song like "Nesting Behavior", definite album highlight "Lockjaw", or on somber album closer "Hold You Own Hand". Leschper see-saws between melancholy, steely determination, and resigned acceptance over the course of the album in a way that realistically recalls both the deterioration of a relationship, wrestling with your own self-doubt, and also the clarity gleaned from experience and time passed.
Leschper's narratives are offered with such a natural plain-spoken grace, they're easily able to inspire visceral reactions from their lived-in universal experiences. And yet, Mothers are able to dress some of those experiences up in a way that ensures the album functions as more than just mood music. Much of When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired is filled with a pervasive sense of melancholy, but it's also a record that let's both Leschper and the band celebrate their victories both minor and major. Leschper shifts through tenses, places herself both apart and among her most personal moments and the rest of Mothers: guitarist Drew Kirby, bassist Patrick Morales, drummer Matthew Anderegg, and even producer Drew Vandenberg aid in the journey. There's something to be said for the effectiveness of the singer/songwriter confessional but Mothers attempts to and ultimately succeeds on When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tried to pair the stirring heart of Kristine Leschper's deeply honest songwriting with the attention-grabbing forward momentum of a tight-knit rock band willing to experiment and explore. It's a fascinating sort of alchemy that puts Mothers in a league of their own able to synthesize style and substance in way that's unique and enjoyable so. When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired is a texturally complex, emotional powerhouse and hopefully just the beginning for Mothers.
Mothers' debut album When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired is out February 26th on Grand Jury. The album is now streaming as a part of NPR's First Listen here and you can pre-order it via Mothers' Bandcamp, Grand Jury, or if you order via your local record you get a specially made limited edition zine in the States and a demos and cassette recordings bonus disc if you're aboard. Lots of options to own this stunningly beautiful gem of an album.
One of the greatest discoveries I made during CMJ 2015 wasn't a band I had seen at CMJ at all. Not that I didn't want to. Considering I saw their name countless times both before and during the week, I was certainly intrigued by Athens, GA quartet Mothers but managed to, in several cruel twists of fate/horrible displays of time management on my part, just miss every set of theirs I set out to see.
When I returned home and finally got a chance to check them out, it wasn't hard to see why the young band was getting so much attention. Mainly the songwriting vehicle for Kristine Leschper, Mothers combines Leschper's unique vocals and intimate lyricism with complex, angular instrumental work. Leschper's distinct yodel, reminiscent of Angel Olsen at times, is a surprisingly winsome fit for the interlocking, occasionally heavy rock and yet both Leschper and Mothers prove their versatility with tracks like "Too Small For Eyes", the opening track to the foursome's forthcoming debut record When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired which swaps out jangly guitars for Leschper on mandolin and string arrangements.
That versatility is fully on display when you go from the sparse "Too Small For Eyes" to the fiery "Cooper Mines" or insistent fervor of "It Hurts Until It Doesn't". Leschper's vocals lend themselves effortlessly to the emotive and Mothers put that smartly at the forefront. But Mothers is more than just Kristine Leschper; the band evolving from a solo project into a tight knit machine capable to fusing the raw sincerity of Leschper's vocals with a relentless head-banging forward momentum. In just three simple songs Mothers display without a shadow of a doubt a maturity and confidence in their own sound that most bands would kill for. It's enough to get you properly excited for their full length record even as each track reveals itself to be wholly different from the other.
Mothers' debut full length When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired is out February 26th on Grand Jury. You can pre-order the album now.
