Mother and Son are a self proclaimed garage surf-a-billy two-piece, consisting singer/guitarist Bodie Jarman and Mat Teudt on drums, both hailing from Wollongong, NSW. Their self titled debut album is out now on Impedance Records having been recorded and mixed by the band and mastered by Loki Lockwood at Spooky Records.
I've seen these guys live and was hugely impressed with their frantic set so was keen to get my ears on this album when I heard it was out. I've also seen a few accolades thrown their way (Beat Album of the Week, SYN's The Hoist Album of the Week, Edge Radio Recommends and various other good reviews) so my interest is well and truly interested.
Opener Mosquito sets a steady, drudgy pace and quickly builds up before it's over and the segue to Dengue Fever is complete. It's so tight I wonder why it's even two songs (as you'll notice in the video clip below). Both are guitar-riffing instrumentals supported by some plodding drums.
Dead Yellow Moon is one of the bands leading tracks and has already picked up some JJJ airplay. It's a janglely guitar, screeching vocal track that might win some Jack White fans over. The other track they're spruiking is It Won't Be Long which goes even bluesier swapping the screech for a gravel-coated voice and guitar riff that your head won't be able to stop chasing.
Central tracks (Hanging Tree, Creature From The Swamp and Savage) Mother an Son go for a more swampy feel, holding to the overall vibe of the album, and it's here where I think the band really shows it's strength and make up three of my favourite tracks on the album. The tempo is tempered, vocals wail like a man dying slowly from the black death while guitar and drums paint a dingy, bleak backdrop.
Mat's drumming and Bodie's guitar can both be a bit patchy in places, and although it sounds like they've gone for a raw (garage) sound with this record, another take or two for these parts might have been less jarring.
Surfswing is where the surf-a-billy comes in, and it's a really cool instrumental track that the Reverend Horton Heat would love grooving to. Redcoats is a long slow creeper that's more depressing than all your boy/girlfriends breaking up with you at once (so my most favourite track).
South of the swamp you'll find Johnny Boy, an acoustic, evil, country song that doesn't fit the album very well. Completing the album is Closing Theme which does a good job of doing just that with easing the album out slowly like the credits of your favourite soap.
The packaging is a simple folded card with slip inserts printed in a sepia brown depicting a bunch of old cars parked around an old tin shed. It looks something you'd expect in an 'outback being chased by murderous hicks' type movie setting.
Mother and Son's self titled debut is a solid record with some great moments but lacking a little slickness to make it stick for me. Do catch their live show though because it's this album much faster, more chaotic and heaps of fun.
3 stars
Published on Sludge Factory
I've seen these guys live and was hugely impressed with their frantic set so was keen to get my ears on this album when I heard it was out. I've also seen a few accolades thrown their way (Beat Album of the Week, SYN's The Hoist Album of the Week, Edge Radio Recommends and various other good reviews) so my interest is well and truly interested.
Opener Mosquito sets a steady, drudgy pace and quickly builds up before it's over and the segue to Dengue Fever is complete. It's so tight I wonder why it's even two songs (as you'll notice in the video clip below). Both are guitar-riffing instrumentals supported by some plodding drums.
Dead Yellow Moon is one of the bands leading tracks and has already picked up some JJJ airplay. It's a janglely guitar, screeching vocal track that might win some Jack White fans over. The other track they're spruiking is It Won't Be Long which goes even bluesier swapping the screech for a gravel-coated voice and guitar riff that your head won't be able to stop chasing.
Central tracks (Hanging Tree, Creature From The Swamp and Savage) Mother an Son go for a more swampy feel, holding to the overall vibe of the album, and it's here where I think the band really shows it's strength and make up three of my favourite tracks on the album. The tempo is tempered, vocals wail like a man dying slowly from the black death while guitar and drums paint a dingy, bleak backdrop.
Mat's drumming and Bodie's guitar can both be a bit patchy in places, and although it sounds like they've gone for a raw (garage) sound with this record, another take or two for these parts might have been less jarring.
Surfswing is where the surf-a-billy comes in, and it's a really cool instrumental track that the Reverend Horton Heat would love grooving to. Redcoats is a long slow creeper that's more depressing than all your boy/girlfriends breaking up with you at once (so my most favourite track).
South of the swamp you'll find Johnny Boy, an acoustic, evil, country song that doesn't fit the album very well. Completing the album is Closing Theme which does a good job of doing just that with easing the album out slowly like the credits of your favourite soap.
The packaging is a simple folded card with slip inserts printed in a sepia brown depicting a bunch of old cars parked around an old tin shed. It looks something you'd expect in an 'outback being chased by murderous hicks' type movie setting.
Mother and Son's self titled debut is a solid record with some great moments but lacking a little slickness to make it stick for me. Do catch their live show though because it's this album much faster, more chaotic and heaps of fun.
3 stars
Published on Sludge Factory
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