Motherhood

Sappyfest, Sackville NB, August 2

Photo: Stephen McGill

BY Matt BobkinPublished Aug 3, 2019

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Fredericton rock trio Motherhood took the Sappyfest crowd through their dizzying, genre-fucked odyssey. The living embodiment of one of those YouTube videos that covers the same song in 20 different genres, Motherhood riffled through blues, punk, country and surf with a tightly choreographed seamlessness. Sometimes, it was unapparent that something had changed until it was too late, like on standout "Way Down," when the Beach Boys-y surf track slowly gave way to winding post-punk, but it was only clear something had changed once the yodelling kicked in.
 
Guitarist Brydon Crain and bassist/synth player Penelope Stevens traded off vocal duties at the front, while drummer Adam Sipkema held down the backline, providing a strong anchor while his bandmates went wild all over the genre map. An impressive and clever mashup of sounds, Motherhood indulged their influences in an exciting and eclectic way, using their technical skills and boundless creativity to segue between them all to keep the seams out of sight.

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