New Brunswick (Canada not NJ) art/post-punk punk trio Motherhood have just shared their latest single “Sunk,” off their upcoming album Thunder Perfect Mind. TPM is, naturally, a mathy, twitchy concept album about a bridge crossing pedestrian who is “yeeted back to the dawn of time” and forced to observe a real-time return to the present while being held captive by an otherworldly force. The band describes it as basically a sci-fi novel, but also as their most accessible record yet, in typical unpredictable fashion.
“‘Sunk’ is a rock song’s rock song. For fans of: disgusting surf riffs, huge chord progressions, driving drums, gang vocals, triumphant harmonies, spelling out a word, double-time punk sections, a titular character. The way out has been revealed after millions of years alone and it’s time to leave. Left foot in the mist.“
Motherhood’s newest garage-surf long-player – Thunder Perfect Mind – is a divinity-defying deep-dive of forced perspective, a “Dark, Expanding Cloud” and some light time travel.
Borne of lyricist Brydon Crain’s pedestrian commutes across Fredericton, NB’s Wolastoq River, the 11-track album narrates the sudden abduction of an unsuspecting bridge-crosser by an ever-growing otherworldly force. Yeeted back to the dawn of time, held captive in The Cloud as a spectator to all of history, there’s ample time to accept that progress will never be linear. To eclipse what controls, the only way out is through. But what lies beyond the Cloud?
Leaning less on their penchant to use genre as a splatter paint, Thunder Perfect Mind is Motherhood’s most focused and cohesive album to date. “Despite it being a concept album that’s basically a sci-fi novel, I’m pretty sure it’s the most approachable album we’ve ever made.” Penny laughs. “I’m really proud of where we’ve gotten to as songwriters.”
What do you think of “Sunk” from Motherhood?