Mother's Children / Mandates - Split 7"

Taken By Surprise (2015)

I'm not sure if I'm just buying fewer 7"s this year or if we're starting to see a down tick in the number of them being released.  One that I sure hope doesn't become extinct is the split 7".  It's always been one of my favorite music listening vessels.  Though I love getting split 7"s that have a new band I wasn't familiar with on it, there's something extra fun about a split 7" that has two bands I already know and enjoy.

Mandates are first up, off the heels of their recent full length album.  Their song "Sycophantic Romantic" picks up where their last record left off; with fast paced and catchy power pop.  A slight coating of glam on the vocals and start/stop guitar riffage in the verse leading up to a bit hook with stuttering vocals in the chorus.

Mother's Children are definitely cut from the same cloth as Mandates.  They serve up their own power pop masterpiece with "No Rules."  To me, Mother's Children are a bit more subtle with their hooks and are not quite as in your face as Mandates can be.  Their song is probably my favorite of the two on this 7" and stacks up easily with anything the band has released in the past.

Mother's Children / Mandates - Split 7":

https://takenbysurpriserecords.bandcamp.com/album/mndts-mthrschldrn-split-7

Mother's Children - Lemon LP - Yellow Vinyl (/100)

Taken By Surprise (2014)

Before I start to write about the music, just take a look at that glorious yellow vinyl.  Nothing makes me happier than when a label really nails the color.  It's just perfect lemon yellow and I think it adds to the overall packaging quite a bit.

Lemon is the long awaited follow up to Mother's Children 2010 debut, That's Who.  I guess in the four years between records (Aside from releasing a few killer EPs) the band must have been sequestered in their Canadian bunker, tirelessly crafting a new bunch of pop songs to unleash into the world.  That's what I assume anyway, as the resulting record is fantastic and more focused than their debut.

While That's Who had a somewhat more relaxed vibe, Lemon feels tighter with more attention paid attention to detail.  The songs are catchy, the vocals are great and the band has always had heaps of attitude which comes through as well. The guitar work sounds polished without sounding overproduced.  It's really a case study in a band's ability to balance an upbeat, fun record that doesn't devolve into sloppy chaos or go too far the other way and have the production zap the fun and authenticity from the songs.  Mother's Children are just further proof that the best rock and roll in the world is coming from Canada these days.

Mother's Children - Lemon LP:

http://takenbysurpriserecords.bandcamp.com/album/lemon-lp

Mother's Children - See The Other Guy 7" - Clear Vinyl, Alternate Cover(/100)

Mother's Children - See The Other Guy 7" - Clear Vinyl, Alternate Cover (/100), a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Ptrash (2012)

I've been meaning to get around to this 7" for quite a while now and I couldn't even give a good reason as to why it's taken so long. Mother's Children put out a 7" in 2009, one of my favorite records of 2010, a killer 12" EP in 2011 and this 7" in 2012. I'm hopeful that we'll see another LP this year as the band just consistently releases such great, great songs.

To compare Mother's Children to another band, I almost always put them in the same category as someone else that garner's heavy play around here; Marvelous Darlings. They both have a glammy edge to their power pop and both write some of the catchiest hooks you're going to find. The record you see above is the Ptrash Club Version, on clear vinyl with different artwork from the regular release. I think I actually prefer the art to the normal version, but there's just something that makes it impossible for me not to have the more rare of the two. It's a sickness.

Mother's Children - See the Other Guy 7":
motherschildren.bandcamp.com/album/see-the-other-guy-ep