Marrying noise rock with dreamy shoegaze and psych pop in unholy matrimony, Toronto-based Mother Tongues' debut EP, Everything You Wanted, showcases a cosmic and deeply wistful collection of songs that conjure a range of influences from Tame Impala to Black Sabbath, Stereolab and The Flaming Lips. And yet, they craft a sound uniquely their own.
Comprised of members from such notable projects as Luna Li, Maylee Todd and Mimico, Mother Tongues are hardly fresh faces in the Canadian music scene. Since 2014, they've played regular gigs at concert venues and stages across both Canada and the U.S., performing and revising the very same tracks that now appear on their debut EP. They also serve as a prominent piece of a much larger puzzle that makes up a blossoming psychedelic music scene in Toronto.
If there's one word that best describes Everything You Wanted, it's atmospheric. Sounding like a film score pitting the listener at its centre and enveloping them in walls of sound, the EP is hypnotic, mystical and nostalgic. There are fuzzy guitar riffs, dramatic keyboard arrangements and bumping bass lines — along with Charise Aragoza and Hannah Bussiere Kim's unclouded vocals — that quickly set a dreamy mood for the album.
On seven-minute opus "Eternity," a steady, metronomic kraut tempo crashes against the rapid attacks of driving guitars, while ominous keys build on top of synth waves on the haunting and leisurely "Heads Up." Elsewhere, "Let You Down" starts off as a lively pop track before being overtaken with swirling, patterned melodies of the progressive rock variety. This twisting, morphing dynamic is a recurring fixture on the EP, with most songs suddenly shifting in unexpected but effortless ways.
Mother Tongues's Everything You Wanted EP may only be six songs but there's plenty of meat on the bones for listeners to sink their teeth into and enjoy, at least until the band drops a full-length LP. Fingers crossed that happens sooner rather than later.
(Buzz)Comprised of members from such notable projects as Luna Li, Maylee Todd and Mimico, Mother Tongues are hardly fresh faces in the Canadian music scene. Since 2014, they've played regular gigs at concert venues and stages across both Canada and the U.S., performing and revising the very same tracks that now appear on their debut EP. They also serve as a prominent piece of a much larger puzzle that makes up a blossoming psychedelic music scene in Toronto.
If there's one word that best describes Everything You Wanted, it's atmospheric. Sounding like a film score pitting the listener at its centre and enveloping them in walls of sound, the EP is hypnotic, mystical and nostalgic. There are fuzzy guitar riffs, dramatic keyboard arrangements and bumping bass lines — along with Charise Aragoza and Hannah Bussiere Kim's unclouded vocals — that quickly set a dreamy mood for the album.
On seven-minute opus "Eternity," a steady, metronomic kraut tempo crashes against the rapid attacks of driving guitars, while ominous keys build on top of synth waves on the haunting and leisurely "Heads Up." Elsewhere, "Let You Down" starts off as a lively pop track before being overtaken with swirling, patterned melodies of the progressive rock variety. This twisting, morphing dynamic is a recurring fixture on the EP, with most songs suddenly shifting in unexpected but effortless ways.
Mother Tongues's Everything You Wanted EP may only be six songs but there's plenty of meat on the bones for listeners to sink their teeth into and enjoy, at least until the band drops a full-length LP. Fingers crossed that happens sooner rather than later.