Tablefox’s latest track, Mother is an example of everything that modern rock music should be; a great performance that makes use of modern production technologies without becoming overproduced. Finding a good place to start talking about Mother is truly a challenge as with every listen it seems that I notice something new about the track. Even as I write this review, I have the song on repeat just to make sure I don’t miss anything.

As is the case with any piece of music, you need something to capture the attention of a passive listener, Tablefox certainly know how to do that. The track begins with a narrow sounding guitar soaked in reverb and delay, the feeling of space this creates between the listener’s ear and the guitar immediately made me listen a little closer. Within 15 seconds the drums come in with a simple, driving beat, the jangly guitar tracks become wide in the stereo field. A melodic bassline comes in very forward in the mix which immediately made me think of The Bats. As if all of this wasn’t enough, to top it all off is a singable and catchy “woah” vocal melody.

The first verse kicks in, the guitars make way to emphasise an already powerful vocal, making the lyrics feel far more intimate and impactful. Clearly a deliberate move considering the song is based on what vocalist, Clinton Bell may have said to his mother before he was born, a very personal and emotional subject. After each line of lyrics, both guitars play a harmonised lead line with one guitar in the left ear and one in the right giving everything plenty of space in the mix. The verse starts building intensity half way through, adding layers of guitars playing offbeat stabs and adding a more central lead guitar melody. This builds into a pre-chorus that feels like tension and energy is building before going into the second verse, something that caught me by off guard, making the second verse feel new again despite being much the same as the first sonically. At the same time, it made the payoff of the second chorus that little bit more satisfying.

Mother is the result of great songwriting, great musicianship, and I’m sure many hours of hard work from Tablefox. The song is structured in such a way that it keeps drawing the listener further in, increasing the payoff the longer one listens. It’s clear that the meaning of the music has been embedded into every element of the track. 5 stars from me!

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