Mother Vulture are a Bristol-based punk band who have just released their debut album. Mixing anthemic rock with hardcore, it’s not for the faint-hearted. The album is called Mother Knows Best.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Shona Cutt Photography
Mother Vulture are best known as a live band, akin to other British rock acts tearing up the scene like Dillinger Escape Plan or, my personal friends, HECK. It’s not always easy translating live performance energy into a recorded album so it was going to be interesting to see how Mother Knows Best turned out.
Any doubts were extinguished right from the off with opener Fame or Shame. Starting with vibrant drums and distortion, it quickly hits its stride through riffs and charismatic vocals. It’s the kind of energy that makes you want to throw yourself around the room.
Monster Crunch follows, a track I’ve previously shared on the blog and, indeed, introduced the band to me. It brings all the same swaggering energy that I remember, along with some emo rock macabre lyrical themes. Honey slows things down a little without losing any of the impactful riffs. Fans of ’90s rock and roll like Guns ‘n’ Roses will find a lot to love about it.
The gentle vocalisations at the start of Rabbit Hole lull you into a false sense of security before sucker punching you with some big riffs. Big Bad canters along with a mocking energy before the first half of the album is rounded off by Shifting Sands, bringing with it some dark and Gothic undertones.
Mr. Jones invites you to the mosh pit before Vile Breed demands you stay there with its misanthropic roars. Not Yet provides gloom, atmosphere and metal sensibilities. Then Put Me Down calms things down a bit with its tale of toxic love.
A short interlude gives you a moment to catch your breath before the album finishes strong with Homemaker. It’s an odyssey of a track that really ramps things up to eleven. With it, Mother Vulture really saved the best for last, bringing together all the different sides of their sound we’ve heard so far.
If you like your music loud then Mother Vulture have provided your next must-listen album with Mother Knows Best. It’s time to see what all the hype is about with this band. You’ll not be disappointed. You can check out the whole of Mother Knows Best below.
