'They Come' by The Muthas
Review
Today, The Muthas unveil their debut album called ‘They Come'. And to prove it they are indeed here. However who "they" might be is left a little conjectural by a linking but non intrusive narrative.
This consists of ten tracks including two you'll already know from previously issued singles: "Black Cat" and their debut "Circles (Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know)" (you can find that one on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Eleven' also. The others are "Just Need Your Time", "Human Touch", "Spirit", "Party", "See You When I'm Dead", "Shake", "Little Momma" and the opening "The Muthas Intro" (which is pretty much where you'd expect to find it).
They are as you know a trio: Joseph Jack Rudman (guitars, keyboards and vocals), Ben Davies on bass and Zeke Martin on drums and bands of this size have no room within in which to hide. Were I to list the bands each has been in (or even just those other ones they are currently members of) then you'd get a sense of the experience brought to The Muthas and hence the perception that this would not be a problem for them.
Well of course it's not: you've probably seen them live as well as via the singles: and they are a remarkably popular live proposition especially given the relatively short time they've been together (though I guess expectation was already high given their individual pedigrees). So let's take a high level of competence as read & move swiftly via skill to virtuosity. They certainly can play.
I wanted to establish this early on in the piece as it's not my main focus. What I think of ‘They Come' is way beyond technical expertise into something to me even more important.
Classic "power trios" (and I think we can use that expression here) have always had space for the members to express themselves into individually. And therein lies the trap. Classy ones blended the parts into a whole greater than the sum. Others instead became opportunities for some pretty ghastly showboating and egocentric nonsense: uplifting for each member maybe but less so for audiences and probably for bandmates: no wonder such bands historically have included some of the most dysfunctional & internally riven.
What you get with The Muthas is not only a palpable sense of three guys who not only enjoy playing music but enjoy playing with and off each other. This is a band built on collaboration not competition.
You can tell: well I think I can. Self indulgence in music turns me right off & I can't listen to such let alone write about it. This, on the other hand, I loved. You can search for showing off & selfishness but you won't find any. This is delightful, accessible music, played really well.
They possess a sense of bravura in their collective expression which is part of their identity but it never crosses the line into arrogance nor pomposity.
Part of the evidence as to the delight they derive from this thing which they are doing is that they even compose instrumentals. Now I'm not saying that this is a dying art or even that all instrumentals are good things: for every Link Wray there were far bigger chart hits for ghastly stuff by the likes of Bert Kaempfert or James Last. However you can tell stories in music without needing words and if I don't watch out I'll be making some trite comment in a moment along the lines of The Muthas letting their instruments do all the talking when they feel they can best articulate themselves by that route on tracks such as "Spirit".
I think it is more than a coincidence how they dipped back into the history of rock & roll to play tracks like this. In some ways, ‘They Come' might be taken as three 21st century musicians on a voyage of exploration of what came before them & taking pleasure in adding to their repertoire of playing styles by having fun with styles which were originally conceived before their own days. There is so much variety on this record & you can hear clear resonances from everything from 1950s rock through psychedelic takes on the genre to the early 1970s rediscovery of roots elements in the music.
None of these though takes the form of pastiche: the songs are made with respect and yet played with glee: as I say, exploring what you might do without simply copying what someone has already beaten you to.
Would a rock band like The Muthas take kindly to my describing the whole album as "delightful"? I hope they excuse me as I think it fits: certainly in relation to my own reaction.
Given all I've just said about it, it's hard to come up with another conclusion. There is something there for most people but I'd hope that the majority would like it all: diversity spices things up I find.
This includes a thousand little touches of taste & genius: from musical quotations of not just past times but different world cultures to framing the whole album with that narrative which includes a welcoming spoken section through to bidding us farewell. They must have spent a long time & enjoyed adding all this very fine detail but it adds to the charm & to the distinction.
I often make the point that humour is too often omitted from music and definitely favour artists who understand that this quality humanises records without turning them into comedy albums. This is a very good humoured & humane record & again this tells you much useful information about the band and why they merit my support and yours.
The one thing they did have to take on board possibly was a danger of their own enthusiasm running away with them and becoming too lost in what they were creating: the marvellous "Little Momma" (which seems to doff its hat to The Doors) lasts for five and a half minutes. Mindful perhaps that this might jeopardise its airplay chances, with the help of producer Jon Webb (who is on top form himself), they are also provided an edited variation a minute shorter. This rather suggests a plan for it to be a single which in my opinion is no bad thing.
It does however take pressure for brevity off the other songs and so they simply go where "See You When I'm Dead" takes them for eight minutes: which includes dipping into classical music quotations. It's epic music in terms of duration & quality.
Which causes me to circle round to where we came in: in many ways, ‘They Come' exists as a documentation of their live set up to the moment of recording (they are already playing new material live): something you can have at home and play when the need to hear The Muthas arises. However the best way to experience the pleasure they obviously get from playing is to be a fly on the wall when they do so: watch out for their live dates!
