M.otherThing – manic,ecstatic

by: Aniruddh Nambudiri

I have a very distinct first memory from house shows in Madison. It was my second show and it was at the second version of the Mousetrap. The one where about 20 people could fit reasonably so instead 50 fit in to see musicians. It was my second show and first proper bill at an actual venue and it went really well. Mainly because I walked away with just one band name on my mind, Supercritical. I was hooked onto what was just blazing fast and really loud music along with some of the best live screaming I have heard to this day honestly. High pitched and shrill in the best ways. M.otherThing used to be the lead singer and guitarist and along with still being involved with projects like Sonic Daphne. I was excited when a new solo project of hers was active and the product is this thirty minute barn burner of a project. 

I need to start by saying that a lot of your enjoyment hinges on how much you like genres like sasscore. This does a lot to differentiate itself from other projects in those genres, but some people just cannot get past the vocals. This project though does add to some great sasscore across Wisconsin with acts like i h8 it here. With that all out of the way, the electronics! The electronics and synths really differentiate it from a lot of other emo projects. The sound switches between full on walls of sound and then leaving some gaps in there and letting it all sit. There is also a heavy helping of heavier and faster moments in some of the shorter songs on this project. The variety helps make the consistency that much more important to the album. 

This album also kind of caters perfectly down my metal tastes as well. High pitched screaming has always been something I have loved hearing. I just feel it has a lot more emotion and body than the gutturals you hear on a lot of projects and especially in genres like emo, I love hearing what the singer has to say. This project is filled with some great lyrics at an ear-piercing level and that is easily one of the best parts of the project. I also love the production here. The human touch is another thing my friends have heard me rant about way too much. I really do not like modern metalcore for the reason that I feel it’s been produced by a robot to perfection where instead I would love to hear some imperfection, and this album is produced with that human touch in mind through all the electronics. The guitars especially sound great. Drenched in chorus and the vocals help compliment them. The production makes them all sit in a great place in the mix. They all work with each other very well. 

For highlights from top to bottom, I really liked the climax reached on ‘divine’, which pays off the first two tracks of the album very well. The duo in the middle of tracks that make up the title of the album also work really well. Just a constant and fast mayhem of two songs that showcase when the album is at its best. ‘Grrl Juice’ also adds some heavier electronics to make a song that has a different sound to a lot of the rest of the project. Still heavy but relying way more on some great synth walls to reach another great climax towards the end of the song. My personal favorite on the album has to be ‘blindfold’ though. Immediate impact with some great melodic moments to compliment a breakneck pace before the final track of the album. 

I will say that the slower moments on the album can be a bit hit-or-miss for me but that is more from a personal preference where I am not a major fan of cleaner vocals on metal projects despite the space they can bring. I am a fan of breaking up the constant noise but with the project at 10 songs, I guess I would rather the constant noise. A small nitpick though on what is a really great first project. Just 10 really killer cuts that all work really well with each other.