Texas/Scandinavia omnigenre supergroup The Young Mothers have just shared their new track, “Better If You Let It,” first offering off their upcoming album of the same name.
The Young Mothers dates back to Ingebrigt’s time living in Austin TX. The term “unclassifiable” gets thrown around a lot in album promo texts, but I think it truly applies here. Rather than creating a delicate, narrow lane of their own, The Young Mothers are a truly maximalist band, folding in afrobeat, hip-hop, Scandi free jazz, punk, indie rock, and everything else they can get their hands on with wild abandon.
On this first track, “Better If You Let It,” trumpeter Jawaad Taylor lays down rap verses about an OD over a thumping groove from Frank Rosaly and IHF, followed by a drifting horn unison melody and then a frayed, shredded guitar solo from Jonathan Horne. It’s a freeing and ecstatic listen, music with no fear and no boundaries.
“‘Better If You Let It’ is a song that came together in the typical way The Young Mothers work. It is a song that pulls from the things going on in the world at large and the culture the band has developed over many years of working together. The song aims to take the listener on a journey that begins in the way it ends.
“Jason Jackson brought the band a whimsical ballad that the band immediately embraced. Later Jawwad sampled and deconstructed Jason’s original tune turning it into what you the listener hears in its final form.
“It is both a tribute to a very special time when the Great American song book was being formed and a time when producers were digging through what had become old records that where being repurposed to create brand new songs for the world to enjoy. Hence, the song beginning where it ends. With Jason Jackson’s original tune and morphing into it’s final form.
“Begins where it ends.” – Jawwaad Taylor
What do you think of this one?
