{"id":21720,"date":"2021-09-28T05:30:24","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T09:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=21720"},"modified":"2021-09-29T08:26:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T12:26:21","slug":"21720","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/28\/21720\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: The Mommyheads — Age of Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Mommyheads aren\u2019t widely known outside of New York City (and Sweden), and that\u2019s a shame. With wit that sometimes rivals that of XTC, a melodic sense that recalls 10cc and a prolific nature (more than a dozen albums released, even while taking a decade-long hiatus), The Mommyheads are one of pop music\u2019s undiscovered gems.<\/p>\n

And they\u2019ve been staying busy the last few years. Since I interviewed the group in 2018<\/a>, they\u2019re released three new full-length albums. And they have also overseen expanded reissues of four earlier albums. The latest of the new lot is Age of Isolation<\/i>, and it\u2019s another brilliant example of the qualities that make the group special.<\/p>\n

The baroque textures that characterize some of the group\u2019s best work is on display from the start. \u201cTV Dinner\u201d is a finely wrought tune that draws the listener into the Mommyheads\u2019 world. The tune starts out being one thing, and \u2013 a Mommyheads signature approach here \u2013 it soon becomes something else entirely.<\/p>\n

The band can rock, too: \u201cLast Silver Dollar\u201d is built around a stinging guitar lick and an electronic beat that suggests a muscular Radiohead with sturdier pop values. \u201cDon\u2019t Ignore the Air\u201d starts off sounding a bit like The Alan Parsons Project\u2019s \u201cEye in the Sky\u201d but then it shifts gears as well, into something that feels like a cross between London Town<\/i>-era Wings and skewed \u201890s alternarock a la Michael Penn.<\/p>\n

In fact that last reference is a handy one to underscore the fact \u2013 like Penn \u2013 that The Mommyheads are skilled manipulators of the pop music form. The take familiar elements and recast them in their own inimitable style. Arty, skewed pop is their forte, but they\u2019re not doing it not for the sake of artiness or skewed-ness.<\/p>\n

The title track is hypnotic, again redolent of Radiohead. But the melodies \u2013 even though they\u2019re sophisticated and slightly unconventional \u2013 will appeal to those who delight in music that swings for the fences without a whiff of pretense. “A Shift in the Astral Plane” may be the best track here, but there aren’t any duds.<\/p>\n

Fitting a title like Age of Isolation<\/em>, The Mommyheads\u2019 latest album is pervaded by a contemplative, inward-looking nature. But they still rock out on tracks like \u201cStatues (Painting, Poems, Books),\u201d a tune that might remind some listeners of Queen or Jellyfish.<\/p>\n

The group had what looked like its major label breakthrough in 1997, with a self-titled album on Geffen Records. The big time didn\u2019t materialize for the band, but thankfully they didn\u2019t throw in the towel. Intelligent, literate rock doesn\u2019t get much more intelligent \u2013 or literate, for that matter \u2013 than The Mommyheads, and now, thirty-plus years after their debut, they\u2019re making some of the best music of their career. I\u2019m doing my small part here to get the word out, because in a fair and just world, they\u2019d be as big as XTC or Jellyfish.<\/p>\n

Um, wait: neither of those bands was all that commercially successful, either. But I trust readers will get my point.<\/p>\n

And they may also enjoy:<\/p>\n