Like some form of traditional music from a far off planet, Winded speaks volumes where words fall short.
Matt Carter
Fearless. Brave. Focused. These may be the best three words to describe Motherhood’s approach to making music. They follow no trends, cop no mojo, and pander to no one’s creative interests but their own. In doing so, they have crafted their own brand of rock music and in the process, tasked countless writers and reviewers with the impossible job of accurately describing just what it is they do.
Over the course of three albums and a few EPs, the group have incorporated elements of country, rock, pop, doom, metal, punk and everything else under the sun into their all-encompassing interpretation of this thing we call music. In doing so, they have had their share of hits and misses, but the integrity and sense of purpose shared by Brydon Crain, Adam Sipkema and Penelope Stevens has never come into question. As a result, Motherhood have built a loyal fanbase that expects the unexpected and finds comfort in not knowing what will come next.
But this inherent sense of unpredictability has presented the group with an obvious challenge. Making exciting music that follows no distinct lead is one thing, but attracting new audiences into the fold can be a much harder task. How do you appeal to fresh ears in a world where predictable formulas reign supreme without compromising the ethics and morals that form your entire foundation?
Winded, the group’s latest album, could be seen as an attempt to answer this question. That is not to say there is even a hint of compromise across these ten songs. Instead, the answer to the question comes in the form of cohesive refinement. Winded finds the group in complete command of their sound, smoothing rough edges while remaining edgy and polishing surfaces to reveal the grit beneath. It’s musical maturity, plain and simple, full of clever subtleties that continue to reveal themselves with each new listen. Whether they are challenging the established “rules” of music through backdoor modulations and dissonant harmonics, or shifting otherwise disjointed rhythms into smooth forward flows, Winded, may be for some, the long awaited key to deciphering the musical hieroglyphics Motherhood have been chiseling into our ears for the past decade.
Motherhood’s message and identity has never shined so bright and clear as it does on this album. Like some form of traditional music from a far off planet, Winded speaks volumes where words fall short. Fucking brilliant.
Winded was released June 24, via Forward Music Group.
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