Motherhood

Dear Bongo // Forward Music Group

The latest album from New Brunswick band Motherhood, has a flair for earnest experimentalism. Each song tumbles through ideas with an ease and rapidity that is something to behold. The opener, for example, cycles through multiple sections which could themselves be whole tracks, before ending with a sample of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. The record by and large follows the model set out by “Bird Chirp”, and features engaging use of samples and quotes, with a variety in texture and songwriting technique that packs an unbelievable amount of material into a 37 minute runtime. “Pick of the Pugs” is one of the most satisfying combinations of all of these elements, with a vocal performance that sounds like a goofier Isaac Brock, a rock solid arrangement, and nods to “Que Sera” and “Mean Mr. Mustard”. The track exemplifies the best qualities of an album with big, ambitious ideas about what a pop song can be. It does this while never getting too lost in its own artiness to stop being fun.

- Sean Newton