MOTHER'S CAKE

This is the first Austrian act to earn a place in my library, leaving Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, the Vatican, Malta, Cyprus, and Kosovo as the only European acts without representation in my collection. Beyond that bit of odd trivia, this is a fantastic record. It's full of mad, kinetic energy that can't seem to decide which way it wants to go. I'd strongly recommend this release to fans of The Mars Volta. The punkish energy of their early work is well-represented here, and it blends well with the visceral funk grooves the band lays down. Echoes of Rage Against the Machine are evident too. Everything is clearly tightly structured, but there's somehow still a fun, spontaneous vibe to this record. This is one of the big surprises of 2020 for me, and considering the strength of this year's crop of prog, that's a ringing endorsement.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/12/07/odds-ends-december-7-2020/