Pitstop: Mothers

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.