We’re going to stop trying to sort/figure out how some artists come into our orbit and just trust that there’s some higher power at work that puts the ones we’re meant to shine a light on in front of us at the right time. Take Sludge Mother example! We’re casually scrolling along on ye olde FB (Probably procrastinating, sorry) and come across a funny clip of an artist trying to keep it together live while performing a song called “I Don’t Want A Job” with their bosses in the audience (Check it here). After the initial intended guffaw out of us we actually stuck around because the short song clip was catchy as hell which led to the artist discovery (Duh, Sludge Mother) thus opening the floodgates to a whole world of modern Grunge awesome.
Now bear with us while we go off for a sec. The Grunge genre is an interesting one where it takes bits of so many scenes (Punk, Metal, and Alternative to name a few) to make up its’ base sound so there aren’t really any sub-genres floating around. Which is great but also a little limiting. And we’ll tell you why because while Sludge Mother definitely inhabits that space, there’s so many more elements beyond what we already mentioned occupying time in here. Grunge-Metal? Nu-Grunge? Who knows! But at the end of the day, what Sludge Mother does can be simplified into terms we can all understand. And that term is: Awesome!
Take that intro piece and the single in question as a prime example. Sure, “I Don’t Want A Job” is kinda Grunge at its’ core but holy hell is this thing HEAVY. and if there was a sub genre actually floating around then we think that Sludge Mother has perfected it with their hybrid melding of Punk, Metal, Alternative and more with a hyper awareness of Pop sensibilities also thrown into the mix to give it that extra “Oomph!”
“Bloom” is that quintessential downtrodden Grunge classic with vocalist Cami Petyn’s low range slithering around the soundscapes constructed by Joey Heck (Drums), Livi Dillon (Bass), Soren (Guitar) and Jeff Sahyoun (Guitar) while “Antidote” encapsulates the gnarliest riffage from Stone Temple Pilots’ No. 4 record (“Down”), turns it up to “11” and makes a moving modern Alt Rawk anthem.
“Machine” sees Petyn getting her Ann Wilson on during a vibrant performance that offsets the moody guitar work and earthquake inducing bass and drums out of Dillon and Heck before bleeding nicely into closer “To Die Is To Live” which incorporates even more sonic textures into the dense Sludge Mother aural fabric for a fitting and fulfilling finale to the EP
How Can Anything Bloom? is out now and you can find your own copy in a variety of ways by heading here or to the stream below. For more from Sludge Mother, head on over to the socials located here, here or here.