Mother and Father
Mother and Father – ‘Ignored’ (mp3)
It took me a while to blog about these, mainly because it took me a while to get over the fact that they have a tendency to sound exactly like Nirvana. There’s some songs on their self-titled debut album that diverge from the early 90s grunge blueprint, but it’s largely characterised by the same musical tropes and straining vocal inflections that made that grunge powerful. ‘Ignored’ is a decent example of their catchier ‘indie songs’ are dressed in the distorted cloak of the opening Nevermind-loving tracks.
Thankfully, the songs are actually okay, which elevates Mother and Father from ‘musical necrophilia’ to ‘musical throwback.’ To my ears, this isn’t a shallow imitation of grunge; it will never be as powerful as those bands back then, no doubt, but it also sounds like an album fueled by love. They’re not doing anything as unique as their heroes, they just want to rock out like them. It’s not subtle, but it has the potential for a cool live show.
