Released 2 October 2015 Genre Psychedelic pop Label Chess Club/RCA | Recorded 2014-2015 Length 51:38 | |
Mothers is the second studio album by British indie rock band Swim Deep, released on 2 October 2015 on Chess Club, a subsidiary of RCA. Mothers peaked at number 55 on the U.K. charts and received generally positive reviews.
Contents
Following the success of their debut album, Where the Heaven Are We, Swim Deep began to record Mothers in London and Brussels in late 2014. Mothers was originally scheduled for release on 19 September 2015, but was pushed back until 2 October.
Singles
The first single from the album, "To My Brother", was released on 9 February 2015. "To My Brother" was noted for its more psychedelic style than previous Swim Deep music, as well as its acid house influences. Andy Baber of musicOMH described the song as "a blissful slice of psychedelic pop that nods to heavily towards the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and, in particular, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica".
The second single, "One Great Song and I Could Change the World", was released on 30 April and is featured on the soundtrack for FIFA 16.
The third single, "Grand Affection", was debuted at NME's Sounds of the Summer on 19 June.
The fourth single, "Namaste", was released on 12 August. NME's Rhian Daly described "Namaste" as "a great big bolt of pop that’s impossible to ignore".
Style of music
Mothers was noted for its distinctly different style in comparison with Where the Heaven Are We. Speaking to DIY Magazine, frontman Austin Williams addressed the band's dramatic new direction, saying, "I feel like we’re all shaving our heads and going to war with this record." Andy Baber of musicOMH wrote, "It is clear the new five-piece had a lot of fun experimenting with their sound and it is a drastic departure from Where The Heaven Are We." The Guardian's Tshepo Mokoena said that the band "ditched the loose and baggy guitar pop of 2013’s Where the Heaven Are We? in favour of psych-pop that contorts itself into pulsing Balearic acid house and motorik rhythms." DIY's Stephen Ackroyd said that "Fueiho Boogie", the album's final track, "explodes time and time again into increasingly more ridiculous krautrock techno extravaganzas."
Reception
Mothers received mainly positive reviews from critics, with a Metacritic score of 79.
Tshepo Mokoena of The Guardian called the album "a playful and boldly curious return". Stephen Ackroyd of DIY described the album as "brave, fresh, exciting", saying "it works spectacularly." Ackroyd also praised the band's confidence, describing the album as "delivered with the swagger of someone who’s just half-inched Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat". Q's review stated that "Mothers marks this once unremarkable band as real contenders."
In a more mixed review, musicOMH's Andy Baber praised "To My Brother" and "One Great Song and I Could Change the World", while comparing "Grand Affection" to "a theme tune for a terrible ‘80s video game" and calling "Laniakea" "just plain irritating". Baber said the album lacked moments that stood out to him, and it was "a case of close, but not close enough".