As I start the review of this year's Mommyheads album, I have one concern. That is how hard it is to keep these words briefer than 20 odd paragraphs. "this years" is the key phrase. I know of no other band that offer up an album annually of such depth and invention.
A curious thing happened here this year. The band's 2022 album, Genius Killer, reappeared in our most popular posts of the previous 30 days and it has been there for months and months. It is currently the second most read review of that period.
This is the third album since that release, each every bit as good, yet that album has really gained a following here and gone over 10,000 views since the review was written. Fans of that album will be happy to know that No Quietus has songs that remind you of it, but as always, the band also move into different directions.
What a 2020s it has been for the band, many think they are a new band, not one that has been around for four decades. They've become College Radio darlings and more of a touring band. All this makes me a little smug with being there from the beginning.
No Quietus, is as ever, as excellently played, arranged and lyrically adept as you might expect. There are nods to genres of the past. I'm Your Apocalypse is wonderful Prog, inventive Prog though, more Prime Time Radiohead than Gentle Giant.
If the band have a template or base station, then the title track is it. But there are also real surprises. Always Reaching is a foray into Disco Pop, Mommyheads Disco of course, with its driving Bassline, synth strings and funk.
It's Only Life is a ballad, a love song and it works beautifully. Wonderful vocal harmonies and a poptastic arrangement. Indeed, this and the cover art similarity to One Eyed Band with its darkness into light suggestion show a slightly different lyrical pattern.
Rather than concerns about the planet and society, the concentration is more a celebration of love and life. More about what's good about it than problematic. Strong is a real mellow slowed down song, again revealing impressive vocal harmonies and how good these guys are on their instruments,
However, it is Race Car Brain that grabs me most. One of those great Adam Elk storytelling affairs that make you listen to every single word. Such beauty and depth. This may be the best Mommyheads album yet, but that is probably only until the next one. Consistently excellent, this band explains why I have a lifetime fascination with music.
You can listen to and buy the album here. The Vinyl and CD versions release on 7 November. I will update details on how to buy later this month.
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