Review: Momma - Household Name
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| Label: Lucky Number/Polyvinyl Records |
I discovered MOMMA because of Etta, who is also a part of the emotional HC-group ASPARTAME. It's a cool side effect, cause as an Indie-Rock-act they are not really the type of band to get straight onto my radar. But since I heard "Rockstar" for the first time, they struck me and I totally connected to them. First and foremost it's their fresh take on Indie-Rock. It's light footed, it's unpretentious (a word I'll possibly type a few more times), it's discreet (another one of those words), it's tasteful. This record feels like I'm back in my carefree youth again!
MOMMA are heavily influenced by 90s-Indie-Rock-music, by the likes of THE BREEDERS, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, PIXIES or SONIC YOUTH. Their attitude also bears some grunge-y undertones and Kurt Cobain seems to be one of their absolute heroes, judging on the "Rockstar"-video. Yeah, the three-piece would perfectly fit into the 90s! Musically, the mentioned bands are like spiritual predecessors, cause MOMMA take a more easy and down-to-earth-approach than most of these bands. The guitar leads have similarities to some stuff on "POD" (listen "No Stage") or even early MODEST MOUSE-records, but MOMMA feel more like THE BREEDERS or THE PIXIES would write Pop-songs.
Speaking about writing, these guys know how to write songs that stuck in your head. There's two sites to the medal whatsoever. On one hand, they don't really mix up their style, the song structures are your standard vers-chorus-vers-bridge-chorus-fare and therefor it's kind of formulaic at times. The opener sets the tone and they run with it for 45 minutes. So, if you don't like their basic style than you'll probably don't like the whole album. But... what's not to like about their style? The hooks and melodies are amazing and the songs, while being catchy and ear-friendly, are not pretentious, also they don't wear off as fast as I'd expected them to. The secret is the consistency of the whole album, the production and a great deal of charme. All this results in a bunch of heartwarming and potentially timeless songs. This album wouldn't work if it'd contain three smash hits that are surrounded by nine fillers. Essentially, there is no filler to be found. Four of the singles are joined by the opener "Rip-off" to build a rock-solid opening stretch. "Tall Home" is on the same quality level, just like "Brave" and "Spider". They mix things up with the melancholic closer "No Bite" but it's no revolution to the stuff before. Nonetheless the time flies with this album!
Most people only talk about the two girls in this band. Yeah, they are sweet, adorable and talented, but don't forget about Aron! He plays guitar, ocassionally the drums and helps out with the songwriting. Yet, his most important role on "Household Name" definitely was that of the producer and engineer. He did an outstanding job, cause the record sounds fantastic. The guitar tone is one big source of charme on "Household Name", though the whole album sounds like a blast from the 90s. The guitars have crunch and there are enough rough edges left, even when it sounds way more radio-friendly than the album before.
I already hyped MOMMA in advance of their album release, by naming them the next big thing in rock music. We'll see how far they'll take off, but with an album like that they need to make some buzz, at least in the world of Indie-Rock or more guts-y Radio-Rock.
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