YOUNG MOTHER play soon-to-open Dundas West bar Get Well on July 13. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Young Mother began as a fairly frustrating band, a noisy, improvisational free jazz collective with just enough structure to hint at the tantalizing post-punk grooves hiding beneath the cacophony.
On their long-in-the-works full-length LP, the young locals have tightened their sound into an insistent machine of ominous textures and barely resolved tension. Nodding to space and Krautrock bands like Can and Neu!, they weave nimble guitar licks and saxophone bleats with tightly wound bass and drum rhythms. The structures often resemble electronic music more than rock, though none of the instrumentation is digital.
Groove takes centre stage, while Jesse Laderoute’s vocal hooks, recalling English punk in delivery, add a more conventional element. Things get raucous at times, but the careful arrangements ensure that the songs never fall apart.
Top track: Common Trash
