Heavy Mother

Reviews

Heavy Mother Comical Uncertainty cassette

On the heels of their debut album from last year, HEAVY MOTHER drops a hefty slab of scuzzy rock’n’roll that just oozes with mojo. Three originals and three covers spread across twenty-six minutes of rowdy, raunchy garage punk featuring a bona fide all-star cast. Their lead vocalist, Eddie Flowers, was in the GIZMOS, for fuck’s sake! There’s a guest appearance by Craig Bell of ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS! We’re talking a Midwestern proto-punk hall of fame here, not to mention that half the members were in the COWBOYS. I’m often disappointed by these groups that sound so good on paper, yet HEAVY MOTHER exceeds expectations by exacting the sonic punishment their pedigree dictates: perfectly trashy, obnoxious, loud rock’n’roll. From the brilliantly depraved opening track “Friday Night (Blackout!),” to the phenomenal rendition of the VELVET UNDERGROUND’s “Foggy Notion,” HEAVY MOTHER is firing on all cylinders. An indefectibly stripped-down production gives Comical Uncertainty a ’60s-inspired haze, fueled by reverb. Toss DEAD MOON and ELECTRIC EELS into the cauldron along with the aforementioned bands and you’ll get a whiff of what HEAVY MOTHER is cooking up. Spicy!

Heavy Mother This Time Around LP

This Bloomington outfit features an original member of the GIZMOS and some of the COWBOYS and, if I understand the weird write-up correctly, is a resurrected old band from the ’70s. It’s pretty close to some of the GIZMOS in sound, but leaning more towards the SEEDS and SONICS’ (whom they cover) garage with maybe a little NEW YORK DOLLS or HEARTBREAKERS thrown in, like on “Don’t Talk To Me.” Drinking corn liquor in a field and heading to a roadhouse is the vibe here, and that’s not a bad thing at all. Skip the hangover and pick this up instead.