By Josiah HughesVancouver indie pop crew Mother Mother are finally set to return with their fourth full-length The Sticks on September 18 via Last Gang Records. If you're dying to hear it now, however, we've got you covered with a full album stream.
The Sticks was co-produced between the band's own Ryan Guldemond and producer Ben Kaplan, the latter of whom has worked with everyone from Shakira to Mudvayne. If you're worried that the album will sound like some sort of nü-metal/"Hips Don't Lie" cross-breed, however, fret not, as it still sounds like true-blue Mother Mother.
As a press release explains, the 14-track LP "upholds Mother Mother's tradition of tri-harmony vocal arrangements and dynamic instrumentation, while making for the group's most eclectic and rich album to date."
I'm just going to replay this over and over until the US release. As always, MM makes picking a favorite track impossible; I can't even dislike a single one! "Bit by Bit" struck a chord in me - all of the voices chiming in, the fuzzy guitar at the end, oh, goosebumps. "Businessman" is going to become a mainstay on my iPod. The handclaps and the melody make "Latter Days" single-worthy, to me. Honestly, every single song on this album -and indeed on every MM album- speaks to me in a way that I've only ever experienced with Mother Mother.
Looks like I'm going to spoil the party. But that's OK. On first listen, the album as a whole doesn't do it for me. I love the eclectic nature of this band, but there's almost too much of it this time to where the album lacks focus. I love the power pop side of this band and I'm not getting enough of that. And where are the keyboards? They are nearly gone other than "Let's Fall In Love" and "To The Wild," (easily my two favorite tracks). I will still give Mother Mother credit for taking chances and following their muse. They have a spirit in them that rivals many of the Punk and New Wave bands of my past. That's part of why I love them so much. However, The Sticks, as a whole, is going to have to grow on me to make heavy rotation on my player.
If I was secluded from the world living on a mountain or in the woods, I would be fine with just Mother Mother to listen to. And a good book and a hot, Wican guy of course. I want to say it's their best album but considering their others I'd say it's just as good, which is pretty much the same thing.
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