By Alex HudsonThis records comes just a year-and-a-half after Mother Mother's previous album, 2011's Eureka, and this quick turnaround is especially impressive considering that the latest disc contains a generous 14 tracks and clocks in at over 45 minutes. In stark contact to the prior collection's upbeat pop-rock bangers, The Sticks is the Vancouver, BC five-piece's darkest work yet, with material that ranges from the eerie folk waltz of "Love It Dissipates" to the metal-tinged intro of "The Cry Forum." Even the album's most melodic moments, such as lovely acoustic ditty "Dread in My Heart," are rendered gloomy thanks to lyrical preoccupations with the apocalypse and corruption of modern life. Mother Mother's pessimistic outlook is compelling and their stylistic adventurousness is to be admired, but it's hard not to miss the giddy pop numbers that have characterized their strongest work. (Last Gang)
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