Motherhood teamed up with artist Amery Sandford to create a colourful animated video for Ripped Sheet, the first single from the band’s forthcoming album.
Matt Carter
Motherhood have kept their audience guessing for over a decade now. It’s kind of what they do. Never repeating. Always climbing. Ever shifting. This mantra, or creative approach, or whatever you want to call it, is what makes every album, every performance, and every new move Motherhood make one worth keeping an eye on. At the risk of sounding cliché or overly hyperbolic, Motherhood’s constant reinvention is one of things that makes this Fredericton trio one of the most exciting and fiercely creative bands you’re bound to come across ‘round these parts. I mean that. I believe that. Truly. Honestly.
This week the band shared Ripped Sheet, the first single off their forthcoming full-length album Winded, arriving via Forward Music Group this June. Ripped Sheet, of course, is a wild ride full of twists and turns, dissonant tones and perfectly positioned tempo changes delivered with unparalleled precision and integrity. It’s a ripper. Of course it is.
But that’s not all.
Let’s talk about the accompanying video for Ripped Sheet. Is that Penny working the bar at The Cap, bummed she’s not making music with her buds? Oh wait. Here they come in a speed boat! Is Adam a dog? And did he just rescue Brydon from some deserted island? Was that city hall??
No doubt packed with hidden meaning, inside jokes, and clever references to their friends and their hometown, Ripped Sheet’s supporting video stands as tall as the song itself. To make it happen, Motherhood teamed up with Newfoundland and Labrador-based visual artist and musician Amery Sandford, who reimagined the trio as characters in a colourful animated storyline that moves parallel with just about every minute aspect of the song’s calculated structure. Sandford’s art for this project is masterfully done and visually stunning.
Pre-album hype isn’t always an easy task. That said, if this pairing of music and visuals was my first introduction to Motherhood, you can bet I’d be surfing my way to Forward Music Group’s website to learn more.
Winded arrives June 24 via Forward Music Group.