Ugly Mother can possibly only be
described as, “seasoned,” and are a trio of somewhat mature
years who have combined their talents to produce a CD
entitled Mad Dogs and Englishmen which has been ensconced
both in my CD player and my I-pod for the last couple of
weeks. In fact, somewhat peculiarly,
it was playing in my car when lead vocalist Quinlan returned
my phone call about a matter relating to the album. So it’s
fair to say that I’ve given Mad Dogs and Englishmen a good
listen which usually indicates that I like something
First though, some
facts about the band; Quinlan has played with Roger Daltrey
and also plays keyboards which may explain how well fleshed
out their sound is. Lyndsey has played with Dave Gilmour,
Alison Moyet and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. Al, on the
other hand plays guitars! Listening to Mad
Dogs... is a highly pleasurable experience and also very
70’stastic, for instance Thin Lizzy or Phil Lynott’s solo
work come to mind throughout. Gender Bender sounds like a
cross between ZZ Top and Jimmy Farrar period Molly Hatchet.
My Angel is AOR in style with a rather lovely dual lead
guitar sound which is prevalent on many tracks and is the
main reason for the Lizzy comparisons.
The other thing to
point out about Ugly Mother is the strength of the songs.
They’re all good and catchy in a way that many modern tunes
aren’t. They’re also upbeat, none of this I want to die emo
styling here. Anything You Want won’t leave my head which is
always a sign of a good tune. In many ways Ugly
Mother are reminiscent of many bands around the UK as they
play their trade without fear of being trendsetters but for
a love of the music and obviously this is to be applauded
and if you like traditional hard(ish) rock which is well
played and easy to listen to then you’d be advised to go to
Ugly Mother’s website and grab a copy of Mad Dogs... at a
very nice price. Oh, and another thing –
don’t be put off by the cover which doesn’t give a true
reflection of what is inside.
Contact:
www.myspace.com/uglymotherband
Simon Bray
