The Mommyheads prep new LP for July 17 release; share first single via URB!

Photo: Charlie Homo      

       

“The soothing indie rock melody of “Science and Reason” is emblematic of The Mommyheads’ expansive trajectory over 20+ years and eight albums of existence.” — URB

The Mommyheads are a true indie rock national treasure.  And while these are enormous words to string together, would they not be an appropriate way to describe a band with seven indie (and one major label) releases, along with a host of singles and compilation tracks spanning more than 20 years?  A band that spent the 90s cris-crossing the United States, playing shows with the likes of Guided By Voices, The Posies, Cake, Unrest, Versus and Tsunami?  A band that released Flying Suit and Bingham’s Hole, considered by many to be two of the greatest indie rock records of the 1990s?

The Mommyheads - "Science and Reason"

(via URB Magazine)

  

The trajectory of the Mommyheads’ career has mirrored that of indie rock: explosive bursts of creativity, power and beauty in its infancy. Glowing promise, followed by a crashing letdown as a brief dance with the corporate entertainment industry in the late 90s left the band down – but certainly not out.  Then, a rise from the ashes four years ago and a newfound freedom to create, unencumbered by the expectations of the industry, yielding a string of gorgeous and increasingly complex albums.

Pulling together a startlingly diverse group of influences, Vulnerable Boy is the band’s most ambitious recording since their 1989 debut.  If 2008’s You’re Not A Dream (Bladen County Records) was the band’s triumphant return, then 2010’s Finest Specimens (Dromedary) was a nod to their illustrious past.  2011’s Delicate Friction saw them looking forward in ways that are now being fully explored with Vulnerable Boy in 2012.

 

Alternately a modern prog-rock masterpiece, a delicate collection of classical-influenced piano ballads and a string of anthemic power pop songs tied together by lush vocal harmonies, Vulnerable Boy casts a wide net.  The album’s ambition is on display right from the opening track, “On a Clear Night,” where Michael Holt’s piano arpeggios are joined by guitarist Adam Elk’s sing-song vocals to form a sort of “prog-pop,” soonafter joined by the pulsing rhythm section of bassist Jason McNair and drummer Dan Fisherman.  By the two-minute mark in the album’s third track, “Science and Reason,” complete with odd time signature, guitar synth and kalimba, you know this isn’t an ordinary indie rock album.

It’s the grand, sprawling strains of “Medicine Show,” though, with its dramatic hooks and crescendos, that hammer the point home: The Mommyheads are not concerned with the trends in today’s indie rock.  They’re concerned with spreading their creative wings and challenging each other as musicians, the result yielding a beautiful, powerful progressive pop album.

Artist - The Mommyheads
Album  - Vulnerable Boy
US Release Date - July 17, 2012
Label - Dromedary Records

Tracklist:

01. On A Clear Night
02. Gimme Silence
03. Science and Reason
04. Medicine Show
05. My Intruder
06. Skinny White Uptight
07. Devastate Me
08. Right Where They Should Be

09. Force of Will
10. Out on the Cliffs
11. Silent Age

12. Bleed From A Glass
13. No One Gives A Damn About Your Band (Bonus Track)