Album Review: New Terrors ‘Mother’

A day is but 24 hours.  24 hours to be stressed, happy, sad, comedic, relaxed or anything else you may be feeling.  Moods, and what bring about them, are what we base our living on.  In the grand scheme of things, the slice of pie that we spend talking about how we feel and what crossroad brought us to this very moment in time is bigger than most of the rest.  And it only works because we all can relate…because the interconnectivity between us has, and always will be, the triumphant greatness of the human spirit.

These Monday night thoughts stem from my first few spins of Mother, a new EP from Indiana based New Terrors.  The solo project of Burke Sullivan, the album is hard to peg into a distinctive electronic genre.  From the moment the heavy synths drop on lead track “Teething Troubles”, the albums intrinsic feelings begin to bloom.  This is not an in your face album, but rather a highly meditative vibe best enjoyed with headphones on and eyes closed.  “Seagulls”, the second track on the album, has a comforting warmth ala many of the chillwave acts such as Teen Daze or Washed Out’s debut LP from last summer.

As the record moves on, an uneasiness associated with the vast expanse of ambient atmosphere present throughout takes over.  This is especially prevalent on personal favorite “Snakeskin” in which the grandeur of the entire whole seems never ending.  It’s as if I’m at the edge of the world starring out into nothing, but everything, at the same time.

In an interview with Indiana University’s WIUX radio, Brandon discusses how the album came about as a process of discovery, including the title Mother.  “The title was the last decision of the whole process.  I was going to make it self-titled, but I felt like that would be a cop-out, and I thought there was enough depth to the songs and the artwork that it deserved a title.  I realized there was a lot of bird imagery, from words like “eggs”, “flying”, “dove”, and so forth in the lyrics to song titles like “Seagulls” and “Feather Fingers”, to the cover art with that eagle mask.  Once again, it wasn’t really planned that way.  But I looked at those themes, and I thought of how birds seem like very communal animals, and you always have the mother making the nest and coming back and forth to take care of the little ones, and the way the babies think the first thing they see is their parent or caregiver (at least that’s what I’ve always heard).  So in that context, I thought “Mother” would be a nice way to convey a feeling of comfort and safety amidst the uncertainty and chaos happening outside the nest.”

The album is available for streaming as well as purchase for $5 via Bandcamp.  The release party for the album will be this Saturday 4-28-12 at the Indy Alliance Church in Indianapolis.  Tickets are $5 at the door.

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Written by Greg Dahman