Motherhood and the massive avant rock pummel and vocal chord destruction of "Dry Heave"

 

"I took another kick at the mud / But my foot whiffed must have been the cool mist lifting up..."


The sheer heaviness and vocal chord destruction of "Dry Heave" by the Canadian art rock project Motherhood is exquisitely satisfying. It is one of those songs that makes your face contort into the most stanky proportions as you enjoy the feral nature of it all as well as the dense musicality. This trio is super tight, there is a musical break / outro with a tension filled fanning guitar lead that feels like something between surf punk and Andalusian melodies and the counter poised bass lines are crazy good. It is as if the lead guitar and bass are driving down a road but at a certain point the guitar turns right and the bass left. While this is happening the drums are anchoring it wildly free but rock steady and dropping into this big wave of sound. 

But let me digress (I may have gotten ahead of myself). "Dry Heave" opens heavy, like falling into a volcano with the appropriate hellish scream, the lyrics trippy, curiously vague feel journey-esque or head trippingly terrifying, 

"I took another kick at the mud
But my foot whiffed must have been the cool mist lifting up
Long dark cloud, hang over the river
Hand over whatever was there
I shivered as the hand around my body put me into the air"

The opening guttural heaviness made me think a wee bit of Tropical Fuck Storm, METZ, Black Sabbath and hitting your thumb with a hammer really hard. When the time sig swaps and the song goes from stoner rock to surf punk in hell I though a bit more of OSEES but only tangentially. Motherhood is their own subversive thing, a helicopter crashing, the hills have eyes psycho hillbillies, or any Quentin Tarantino movie involving surf Nazis. 

Motherhood is Brydon Crain (guitar, vocals), Penelope Stevens (bass, keys, vocals) and Adam Sipkema (drums) have been linking arms and running into rock n’ roll oblivion repeatedly for the past eight years. 

-Robb Donker Curtius  

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://www.facebook.com/motherhoodmusic

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4SnpEoCpqpmL3axTRi3C7D

https://motherhoodmusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mightymightymums/

https://motherhood.website/

https://twitter.com/motherhoodmusic


A trio of deep-thinkin’ rippers, New Brunswick’s Motherhood achieve one very rare and uncomplicated feat: they sound EXCITING on stage and record alike. Unlike so many awkward experiments by peers and ‘adventurous’ contemporary rock outfits, Motherhood’s music explodes with the kind of charm and exuberance you can’t just order. No, it’d take years of late nite couch-crumpled conversations, bathroom stall barfs and parking lot laughter to achieve the kind of chemistry these three exude. If we’re calling this art rock, it’s because commitment is a precious art indeed. And make no mistake, Motherhood is all about commitment. Brydon Crain (guitar, vocals), Penelope Stevens (bass, keys, vocals) and Adam Sipkema (drums) have been linking arms and running into rock n’ roll oblivion repeatedly for the past eight years. Like cowpunk without the jadedness, dust rock without the drymouth; a thinkin’ people’s union for the fearless 21st.

Motherhood, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, heavy rock, alt rock, avant art rock, massive rock, noise punk, screamo, "Dry Heave", dense musicality, heavy rock trio,