[Motherhood]

A trio of deep-thinkin’ rippers, New Brunswick’s Motherhood achieve one very rare and uncomplicated feat: they sound EXCITING on record and stage alike. Unlike so many awkward experiments by peers and ‘adventurous’ contemporary rock outfits, Motherhood’s music explodes with the kind of charm and exuberance you can’t just order. No, it’d take years of late nite couch-crumpled conversations, bathroom stall barfs and parking lot laughter to achieve the kind of chemistry these three exude. If we’re calling this art rock, it’s because, in this era, commitment is a precious art indeed. And make no mistake, Motherhood is all about commitment.

Brydon Crain (guitar, vocals), Penelope Stevens (bass, keys, vocals) and Adam Sipkema (drums) have been linking arms and running into rock n’ roll oblivion repeatedly for the past decade. Like cowpunk without the jadedness, dust rock without the drymouth; a thinkin’ people’s union for the fearless 21st.

[Zenizen]

“This record is a representation of everything that has led me to this point. It’s been a long, bizarre path,” says Zenizen’s Opal Hoyt of her journey to make this record. P.O.C (Proof of Concept) follows a linear narrative: Like Peter and the Wolf, the Russian symphony Hoyt uses as a creative framework, the record cycles through the seasons. We hear abstracted notes of spring, summer, fall, and winter. But this wasn’t the plan when Hoyt sat down to sketch out her debut: “Originally, I was just putting together songs that I had demoed and tried to arrange them for instruments and the seasonal theme ended up being a really effective creative box.”

The result is a deeply immersive album that is the culmination of hard work and vision stitched together by an all star cast of musicians. Variegated bass parts played by Jonathan Maron (Maxwell, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo), moments of magic on horns by Sly 5th Ave (Prince, Ghost Note), intricate mixing by Nick Herrera (Hiatus Kaiyote), with Scott Anthony helming the mastering. Then there’s Hoyt herself, whose singular, rich alto pierces through with poetic lyricism. Hoyt also plays Rhodes, synths, and arranged the record’s samples (think: whale calls, babbling brooks, chirping birds, and rainwater). In other words, Hoyt isn’t just a songwriter in the classic sense. She’s also a skilled producer with a deep understanding of how to write excellent arrangements—the kind of musician who enjoys meandering and allowing her artistic vision to percolate. Likewise, P.O.C (Proof of Concept) is a record that blooms in beauty over time—the kind of record that you can take anywhere in any season.