Rating: 5/5 stars

The band Mother Mother (“Hayloft”) dropped a new album, “Grief Chapter” and it is 100% worth the listen. This album contains the feel of multiple genres ranging from blues, to folk to indie rock. Although “Grief Chapter” does not fully mirror the sound of Mother Mother’s previous works, it is truly a captivating collection of songs. 

In listening to “Grief Chapter” you hear beautiful harmonies and vocal stacking. There are rhythmic breakdowns in many songs, including “Nobody Escapes.” As heard in “To My Heart,” the album conveys melancholic chords that simply pull on your heartstrings. “To My Heart” highlights feelings of growth and reflection, as heard in the song, “I’m gonna float down the throat/of every word I have misspoke,” the lyrics are a perfect example of looking back and regretting words that have been exchanged.

The format of the album gives the listener a walk-through of different moments of sorrow and development. The labels of many songs speak for themselves, and the lyrics only add to the melodious background. The representation of struggle is perfectly displayed in almost every song within the album, and that only makes it much more appealing. The component of identifiable lyrics candidly supports the importance of the message behind this album.

In the catchy “Explode!” there is a perfect demonstration of the unfortunate reality of holding onto things that no longer support your well-being. As sung over a rocky guitar “When I die, I’ll let go/but in my life, I’ll hold on until there’s nothing left to hold/and then I’ll just explode!” Many people can sympathize, many of us hold onto grudges that only in turn make our experiences worse and this song perfectly captures the moment when holding onto something pushes you over the edge.

Within “Head Shrink,” it is communicated that emotional pain causes physical pain, and that in order to heal you need to learn to let things go before it starts to eat you alive. As sung in the lyrics, “And fix my inability to unpack the past/It’s just too hard/Yes, hard/But I gotta start.” You can hear the feelings of being a mess but not being sure as to whether or not it is in their head, and not being sure where to start unpacking. 

It can be argued the entirety of this album is about taking control over your life and making the necessary adjustments to heal. As a whole, the album “Grief Chapter” holds a multitude of songs that many people can identify with. Now more than ever, it is important to have this representation of hurt and the emotions that come along with it. The sentiments that can be heard throughout this album are a beautiful show of dealing with many issues in your life and understanding what you are feeling is normal. Overall, Mother Mother hit the nail on the head in illustrating difficulties that anyone can experience, and the album should bring comfort in knowing you are not alone.

Image by Warner via YouTube