I've been obsessing over Mother Mother and I need to Explode! my thoughts somewhere. Keep in mind, these are my opinions even tho I dont expect people to see this but like dont krill me. (also I've been writing this since nostalgia came out soooo woo hoo!!)
After listening to Nostalgia like 10x over I started comparing it previous albums. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I love the album, but it didn't really quite meet my expectations. After relistening over and over, I liked it more and more. I think I set my expectations so high because I adore Grief Chapter (previous album) so much. So I went ahead and ranked all the albums to how much I like them with notes and my fav song from each :>
If you're new to Mother Mother or want new music recs, here you go <3
1) Grief Chapter 📖 (2024)
A perfect album, literally every song is a BANGER. Any of these songs come on I aint skipping. This album made me become obsessed with Mother Mother, and honestly idek why it just hit me like a truck. This era was their best imo. I feel like they started to inch away from the whole obsession with Hayloft, which FINALLY. Honestly, I ranked it so high because I have such a strong attachment to this album and AAGK I can talk about it forever (hehe) but I wont.
One thing I am not a huge fan/confused about is the album cover. I did read somewhere that it could be a reference to Ghosting "I have decided to pull these old white sheets from my head.” Which if that is true, BRAVO I love it. But idk if I'm fully sold on it.
But the overall vibe I feel is despair with some punk - stick it to the man - energy (esp in Matrix & Normalize). I mean the album is called Grief Chapter ofc it’s gonna be a touchy feely album. Similar energy to the album Dance and Cry.
Head Shrink “it’s in my neck, it’s in my back, it’s in my bed, it’s in my s3x, and every extra little bit of flesh, when I’m undressed, it is grotesque”
First album I recommend to people who are interested in listening to new music or specifically Mother Mother. It’s classic, again I don’t think there is any bad or even mid songs in here. All of them are BANGERS. Has alot of my favorite songs OAT in it (Oleander, Simply Simple, Getaway). Honestly, the more I think about it this is the objectively best album. I just don’t have that emotional response I have with Grief Chapter so it isn’t #1.
I think it's an overall more peppy, fast paced album for Mother Mother. I do see a little theme with a few of the songs being about dealing with mental illness and its consequences (Oleander, Simply Simple, Aspiring Fires, Chasing it Down, Problems)
Getaway “oh what id give to be a supernova. oh, if i could be blown to bits i would, yeah”
By far the most underrated album. Honestly has some of my favorite songs OAT in it (Dance and Cry, I Must Cry Out Loud, Give Me Back the Night, to name a few). It would (and probably should) be higher but some songs just don’t do it for me, so it got knocked down a bit. It also has some sentimental value in it as I was a moderate fan at this point and this is the first album I actually remember being released. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE Its Alright, literally that song cemented my love for Mother Mother. (Also probably gonna get a tattoo based on it). Please please go check out the acoustic version on YT.
It's Alright “I don’t wanna know I’m not capable of coming out alive”
Idk how to describe it exactly- but this album reminds me of abandoning your modern life to go live in a forest. There is definitely some witchy vibes going on too (The Sticks, Omen, To the Wild, Bit by Bit, Cry Forum, etc). Perfect album to listen to in the fall. Really good album!
Bit by Bit "maybe just a good book and a heart to break, I'll make a mistress of a little wiccan thing."
Ah the classics. Idk I feel like this is the most popular album (along with Touch Up) and the first one I listened to back in like 2016. It’s really good! It used to be my favorite album of all time. Omg I remember getting my first vinyl of this album and I played it over and over. Sadly, a lot of its songs have been overplayed to me and it just doesn’t hit as hard as it prolly should. But vibes- honestly a lot of self-loathing themes going on (Wisdom, Body, Try to Change, Wrecking Ball, etc.)
Also best album cove, we love a good fish <3
Sleep Awake "I sleep with one hand on my 45, the other 'round my baby's waist."
Underrated! I really like the overall visuals with white and black ink which you can see in the lyrical/audio videos. Most of the songs are about pushing away/losing your loved ones (Letter, Baby Boy, Cut the String, Worry, Mouth of the Devil, Empty Hands, and even No Culture). Its interesting as alot of the other songs starkly contrast this as most of the rest of the songs in the album are about love (Free, Love Stuck, The Drugs, and Family). So overall I'd say it is about valuing loved ones and the despair of pushing them away.
Everything is Happening "But what about me? Yeah, what about me and my rock n' roll dreams? Well what about them in the factories? Who never sleep, who never dream?"
7) Very Good Bad Thing 🐘 (2014)
For a while this was my least favorite album of MMs and took me awhile to come around to it. The first song I listened to was Alone and Sublime and I generally assumed the whole album was super somber. In my opinion this is one of the more bolder albums with more songs about smex and anger.
Get Out the Way "and I'll write the perfect song for the perfect day, might take a little time before my song gets played."
First album!! Love the chicken, classic mother mother! Guitar (or some string instrument, I dont know much) goes CRAZY in this one. Most folkey of the albums for sure, and many fans love it! I do like folkey music, but it just isn't my favorite album, dont krill me. To me, there really isnt an emotional theme, I think it just sounds really nice and folkey. Some songs do focus on body image (Oh Ana, Ball Cap, Touch Up) , but honestly I just think they're figuring out their music and it's classic!
Touch Up "I need a makeover dream, exfoliant cream, irons and protiens."
Newest album!! I absolutely adore Molly's artwork for the album cover. The album has alot of themes around regrets (Regret, Nostalgia, Little Mistake, Better of Me, Namaste) which ofc makes sense, the album is called Nostalgia for a reason. It is a solid album, but I didnt instantly fall in love with it like Grief Chapter. I'm not really sure why. Some of these songs are skippable for me honestly so its lower on the list.
Love to Death "love enough and you'll start to bleed, love stains and it wont come clean"
Okay, so many thoughts on this one. ALTHOUGH ITS THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST ITS STILL A GOOD ALBUM!! If I'm not mistaken, it is the longest album they have released so far, so alot more songs to be critical of in my rankings. There are really good songs I love, but alot of them are my least favorite Mother Mother songs I often forget they even exist. Literally a decent chunk of songs don't even make it to my main playlist (Girl Alone, Breathe, Like a Child, Seven, Conversations, Turpentine, Frying Pan, Pure Love, Seven). A few of the songs are extremely long with instrumentals which lowkey reminds me of Pink Floyd a bit (Seven, Stay Behind, Inside). Not bad, just very different.
I remember when this came out and I was SO DISSAPOINTED. I was so mad and was like "omg fame totally ruined them, the fanbase is so cringe" and was all salty. This was worsed by some decisions they made that I didn't particularly like (the OVER playing/covering/remixing hayloft... cough cough) BUT I came around (except for the worst song of all time), and hey! I was totally proven wrong because the next album is my favorite!!
I don't know if it's because of my headspace at the time or it does give this vibe, but it reminds me of being an angsty teen. IDK I feel like its the emoest of the albums? (Seven, Until it Doesnt Hurt, Sick of the Silence, All the Dying, Frying Pan, Hayloft II, Weep, Two). It's honeslty so damn long I can't even like- pin point what is even going on. Very unique album and stands out the most among their other albums.
Until It Doesn't Hurt "I wanna tear all my virtues down, and pour gas on the rubble. I wanna burn them to the ground."
Dishonerable mention: I absolutely loathe, hate, even despise Frying Pan. It is the worst song ever created. You should go listen to it just to experience how bad it is. As soon as you think "wow it's okay, its getting better" it doesnt. it is unbearable (I also want to know if it's just me)