Indie rockers Momma’s youthful guitar tunes are solid, but not world-bending — they are the most generic songs to have ever come from the bottom of someone’s heart; and their newest record, “Welcome To My Blue Sky,” further affirms this. Released on April 4, the Brooklyn-based band of four provides listeners with a safe bet of an album that is meant to chronicle the hectic summer they spent touring in support of their 2022 album, “Household Name.”
The first track, “Sincerely,” opens with an acoustic guitar riff fit for the opening credits of a chick flick. It’s a summery song that uses the metaphor of a door to describe having to close out an important chapter of your life.
The vocals are calm, sung by both Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman. They blend into one another, indistinguishable and subdued. It’s a suitable opener, and one of the songs I found myself going back to the most during the process of writing.
The standout of the record comes immediately after. A beginning of distorted synths has a moment before being joined by a pleasant — yet incredibly simple — guitar riff in “I Want You (Fever).”
The bassline is lackluster, but the vocals are bubbly as the two petulantly beckon to a taken love interest: “Really can’t believe she doesn’t feel it / Even I can see that you don’t mean it / Everybody knows that this is going down.”
Its best feature, though, is the dual guitars. They complement each other well, with the rhythm guitar keeping the pulse as the lead carries a punchy, casual melody.
It was difficult to determine who in Momma plays rhythm and lead guitar, but after much research, it turns out that Weingarten and Friedman switch the responsibilities off constantly, even in the same song. This may be why Momma’s instrumentals feel largely impersonal, but it works for this song, which was easily my favorite track.
“Rodeo” is a hazy, bright number. The vocals don’t vary much from the first two tracks, but it’s forgivable when the pre-chorus hits and there’s some interplay between the drums and guitar that are reminiscent of nineties emo, an odd but very welcome influence that completely makes it.
The lyrics are clever enough: “If you’re so tough / You can meet me in the ring / I can’t keep up / You’re the one they came to see.”
Written in the perspective of Weingarten and Friedman’s real life ex-partners, detailing the feeling of being left behind after their respective partners’ infidelity. I’m not reviewing the occasion for the song, but rather the music, so I’ll say cheers to honesty … and a catchy, radiant song.
I sang fairly high praises for the first three tracks on the record. The fourth track is where that ends. “Stay All Summer” is nothing special, and the mixing allows Weingarten and Friedman’s vocals to get lost in the instrumentals, making it difficult to hear the lyrics, once again about cheating while on tour.
Next is “New Friend.” Breezy with its acoustic intro, this song suffers from lyrics about a fling that are so inspired by personal experience that they end up vague in the interest of protecting privacy. It does allow bassist Aron Kobayashi Ritch to deliver listeners the most interesting and jumpy bassline of Blue Sky, so points for that.
The fuzzy “Last Kiss” makes an attempt at heaviness with Deftones-influenced guitars, but the song is ultimately forgettable.
The savior of the second half comes in “Bottle Blonde.” More digital than any other track, Weingarten and Friedman’s sing an ode to their past over some drum and bass breaks, a pleasant surprise regardless of how out of place they may be.
The lyrics are an obvious ode to their past, blonde selves, who seem to be messing up constantly: “Way you talk, you’ll get caught / You got your foot in your mouth.”
It’s a pretty song, but this is the point where it gets irritating to realize that the lyrics on this album are merely the two either letting themselves off the hook for hurtful choices or throwing out vague inside nods to a fun tour that we as listeners were not a part of. The lyricism either bores or alienates us, and the music is only engaging enough to make up for that half of the time.
“Take Me With You” has an intro that sounds as though Phoebe Bridgers tried to write acoustic guitar for Alice in Chains. It’s a sweet song about wanting to make a relationship work. In the end, the bass begins to drone and the synths come back, this time more broken, giving us a charming moment that should have closed the record out.
The real closer, “My Old Street,” grasps at shoegaze and attempts nostalgia. Its heavy drums and distorted guitars are unimpressive, an unceremonious close.
Overall, Momma welcomes us to their mid sky with a few standout, playlist-worthy tracks for the warmer months.
3/5 stars
abrescia@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of PBS
