I Mother Earth
Scenery And Fish
Band Members: Edwin- vocals
Jagori Tanna- guitar and back up vocals
Bruce Gordon- bass
Christian Tanna- drums
Additional Musicians: Percussion- Luis Conte, Daniel Mansilla
Hammond Organ- Kenny Pearson
I Mother Earth. These guys are without a doubt one of the most unique bands I’ve ever heard. Why are they unique? Well for starters on my music player (SonicStage) these guys are referred to as “rap metal”. If that’s not unique then what is? More specifically though, they’re unique mainly because of the percussion section of the band. They have a wide array of different kinds of drums. Bongos, regular drums etc. I’ll get more into what’s unique about their sound later in the review.
Although, I must admit I haven’t always been a fan of these guys. I used to find their “unique” sound repulsive. Of course, this was when I was quite a bit younger. I think I got this album when I was ten years of age. I inherited all my uncles old cd’s as he was going away to college. This is one of the cds my uncle primarily recommended. Unfortunately at the time I was too young to appreciate this albums brilliance. But that’s all changed now. This has become one of my favourite albums. Just trailing a few Metallica, Tool and Rage Against The Machine albums.
Overall sound: As I previously mentioned what really stood out on this album was the percussion. It was nice to see them mix it up with some bongos and other African drums. I enjoyed this because it’s a rarity to find and album where the percussion really stands out. Usually it’s the guitar. The bass in this album was also excellent throughout. Unlike most other albums I’ve heard you can here it clearly throughout. The guitar for the album was also quite interesting. Sort of a combination of alternative rock and blues. The blues mostly came from the solos however, there were no really bluesy riffs. The vocals brought this album down a little. Not much mind you. They were pretty bad but at the same time they just sounded right. I couldn’t picture this album with anyone but Edwin singing, it just wouldn’t be the same.
Track by Track:
Hello Dave (2.5/5)- This track was virtually pointless. I think they just threw it on the album as a silly intro. There’s lots of bongo’s and other unique percussion throughout. There was some nice organ in there as well. There was also some sort of wood-wind instrument. A flute or perhaps a recorder? Anyways since nothing I’ve described thus far is really that bad, you’re probably wondering “Why the 2.5”. Well it was that nothing in this track really flowed together. It sounded like every musician was playing a different song. Very disorganized.
Like A Girl (4.5/5)- One of my favourite tracks from this album. Nice choppy guitar to start things off. Soon accompanied by vocals, guitar and a really cool bass line. The vocals in this some what raspy, like most from the album. Stellar interlude on this track. Some pretty good wah riffage under the choruses. The occasional short blues scale was thrown in, in some places if you listen closely. Stupendous track overall.
One More Astronaut (5/5)- Interesting start to this song to say the least. I’m not sure if it’s done with computers or if it’s actually them. I don’t think it is, though. The only way I could think of to make the sounds would be an extremely out of tune bass and some high-pitched harmonics on the guitar. Anyways, this is my favourite song off the album. I especially liked the little riff at the end of every verse part. The chorus was good as well. A head bobber for sure. I would have said hang banger but it’s not quite heavy enough for that. Again, like most every other track the bass was fantastic. As were the drums.
Another Sunday (4/5)- A more mellow track than most others. With the exception of the chorus which picks things up a bit. Solid bass line. Fairly basic bass and drums in this track. During part of the song there are some high pitched vocals under Edwin’s. I’m not sure if it’s a women or one of the band members disguising his voice. Nothing else to say about this track.
Three Days Old (3.5/5)- A good example of some of the blues I mentioned earlier to start this song off. Very mellow for the most part. Just this it’s preceding track. As far as the instrumentals go for this song they were pretty basic. Although, things in this track did pick up closer to the end. It’s still not really anything to go on and on about.
Used To Be Alright (5/5)- This is one of the stand out tracks of the album. Some nice drums to start things off. Mellow verse. Kind of reminded me of Sublime’s “What I Got”. Edwin’s vocals were a bit better in this track. Excellent chorus. Very powerful. Emediatly after the chorus there’s a splendid riff. The was a nice touch. The bass in this song wasn’t quite as noticeable in this track as it is in most other tracks. Other than that this track was completely flawless.
Shortcut To Moneton (4/5)- Beautiful intro. Nice acoustic start. Soon accompanied by some folk/blues riffage. There was a lot of outstanding soloing on this track. Exceptional bass. Good drums as well. This was an enjoyable track, but it just dragged on for too long. If it weren’t for that it could have gotten a 5. Not much else that can be said about this one. Moving on.
Pisser (4/5)- Speedy track. Very fast throughout. Which was nice because at this point of the album I was beginning to get a little bored. Top notch bass in this song. Marvelous solo in this track. I enjoyed the vocals in the later part of the song. They seemed chalked full of emotion and the rhythm in that part of that song was good. Which helped the vocals.
Raspberry (3.5/5)- Soft start to this song. For a moment I thought it was going to put me to sleep. Then BAM! It gets heavier. At this point in the album in the album this has come somewhat predictable. Several songs start out this way. But, other than the fact that song is ridiculously predictable it’s pretty good. I liked the chorus and the verse. There was nothing really spectacular here, though.
Songburst And Delirium (4/5)- I didn’t particular care for the intro to this track. But then some nice distorted guitar comes in and some rockin’ bass. In fact the bass throughout this track was phenomenal. The vocals weren’t great. There was some nice soloing under parts of the song. This song could’ve gotten 4.5/5 if it would have flowed together a little better. Some parts just didn’t seem to fit. Overall a worthy edition to the album.
Sense Of Henry (4.5/5)- Good flowing track. Starts off with some nice soft vocals. Which I think is best for Edwin. To be honest there’s nothing really fabulous (running out of descriptive adjectives) on this track. But I can’t help but love it. It all just flows together so well. Pretty much the whole thing is mellow which is nice. There’s some excellent blues soloing throughout the song. One of my favourites from the album.
Earth, Sky, And C. (4.5/5)- Some nice soul-warming guitar to get things going. This song is a stunning example of the unique percussion I mentioned earlier. The bass is more than satisfying as well. The vocals in this track were a step up from some of the other songs. Some nice organ in here too. Also, some nice classic rock-esque riffage towards the end. I really love this track. It gets every instrument involved. And unlike the first track they all fit together quite nicely.
Pros: The extra percussion and organ were an excellent addition to the album.
All the instrumentals were good which is rare in most albums
Most songs were very well written, and catchy too
Cons: Edwin’s vocals could have been better
The album got predictable after a while
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
And there you have it. This album is truly one of my favourites. And I demand that you all look in to this NOW! Just kidding of course:). But I still highly recommend looking into this. They have a very unique sound. I know I’ve said that a few times already, but I just wanted to stress my point. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the review. Ta.
