The Mothers haven’t staged an official album release party for the local band’s self-titled debut album, which came out over the summer.
But the laid-back four-piece plans to promote the record with a spate of shows before the year is up.
The Mothers describe themselves as a jazzy-folk-funk outfit with roots in the percussion section of the Sanger High School Marching Band back in 2011.
“The three of us — Jake [McCandless], me and Adriana [Valls] — all went to high school together,” said guitarist and lead singer Naomi Kliewer. “Adriana and I started the Mothers, I guess, when we were like 14 or 15. It was the two of us. I met her in our art class and I asked her if she wanted to be in a band in the art closet.”
The pair started writing songs and then, Kliewer said she and Valls “realized we wanted to be in a band band.” The duo became a trio when Kliewer and Valls told McCandless he should join them on drums and bass.
The group eventually added drummer Kollin Weaver — and then promptly lost him to another Denton band, Biographies.
Kliewer, Valls and McCandless graduated from high school, and Valls and McCandless enrolled at the University of North Texas. Valls is studying composition and McCandless switched from music to speech pathology. Valls met drummer Kyle Williams at UNT, and soon enough, he joined the latest lineup of the Mothers.
The band specializes in smooth harmonies and sophisticated rhythms. Kliewer writes most of the chords and progressions and supplies most of the lyrics. She and Valls work on the songs and then take the material to the band. From there, McCandless said, the band collaborates on the songs.
The band went into the studio at White Noise Productions last November. A huge ice storm broke up their schedule, but the band finished recording in February.
The Mothers combines unapologetic pop chords with folksy, jazz-inspired rhythm. The 10 tracks on the record show a precocious ensemble.
The record betrays its acoustic roots, with the folksy “Sophomore” and “’93” leading to “Narcissus,” which recalls the earthy folk-rock of the Cranberries. Not that the record is one-note. Williams innovates with Latin rhythms and the guitars do a bit of counterpoint on some songs. And eventually, the Mothers get to the R&B dance number “Professional Manipulator.”
What never changes on the album, from start to finish, are the harmonies. Valls and Kliewer are choir-girl precise on each track, and that’s pretty much the point, Kliewer said.
“Harmonizing is my favorite thing,” she said. “So that’s important to me any time we record. And I was in an a capella group, and so it’s just basic for me, now. You build these big chords with people and you get to do really cool jazzy things. So I like to have a lot of thick harmonies. I think it makes it more interesting.”
It’s “Professional Manipulator” that speaks openly about same-sex attraction, which reflects Kliewer’s identity.
“I wrote those songs in high school,” she said. “I have a lot of friends in that [LGBT] community and I am in that community as well. I see my friends going through things and so I write about it.”
Kliewer said she had no reservations about recording the song.
“I don’t think people pay attention to lyrics that often,” she said. “I think they’re like, ‘This sounds cool.’ My mom refers to that song as the song she likes the music to, but she doesn’t like the lyrics.”
“What was that song? ‘Semi-Charmed Life’?” Williams said, referring to a happy-sounding song by Third Eye Blind. “I think that’s about shooting up. It was a huge song for weeks in the ’90s.”
Valls said the Mothers had been working on the 10 songs on their debut record for a few years, and decided they needed to record the songs so they could start new material.
“We were trying to fill up the album,” Valls said. “We needed to get this out to move on.”
Williams said the band members respect one another, and they consider his opinions and ideas — a luxury drummers don’t always enjoy.
“There’s the feeling of being at home with everyone, because the Mothers is the first band I really have played with in Denton,” he said. “Since I started playing, I’ve gotten a lot closer to them, which is always a plus.”
McCandless said the band has gotten more mature and more comfortable taking risks.
“I think just whatever style we’re using, we can dive into more with the different instruments we’ve got in the lineup now,” he said. “Like at the end of ‘It Gets the Hose Again’ — it wouldn’t be possible for us to do that song without the adding of the second rhythm and a lot more drive.”
Kliewer said the Mothers have grown as a result of making their debut record.
“I like that we always want to be better,” she said. “I think we always want to get better, and I don’t think we’re stagnant with what we put out, which I think is a good thing. Because we’re always looking at ‘How can we change this? How can we make this more interesting?’ Also, we love playing. So this is all we want to do with our lives, basically. And just knowing that the people I’m in the band with are working to make that a reality.”
LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877.
