Having recently had the brooding ‘Flaws’ showcased on Killing Eve’s Season 4, Buggs are riding a creative high. Nearly 8 months after its release, their follow-up track ‘Mother’ is a broadsiding awakening for the London indie outfit.
Tapping into a more nostalgic era of 60s-inspired acoustic music, Buggs find themselves anew; tackling their newfound momentum with one of their most tender releases to date.
Whereas previous tracks conjured a feeling of tamed ferocity and vicious self-doubt, ‘Mother’ takes a u-turn into the more nuanced realm of empathy and self-care. Embracing a distinct country-swing not often heard in Buggs’ output, vocalist Alice Western tackles ideas and beliefs around motherhood with fond affection; utilising the Greek Goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite, and the fabricated figurehead of Atlas, to represent the trials of becoming a mother.
The faint, country swing animates the fawning tumult of Western’s prose, carefully building into a thumping coda before the conclusive addition of scratching background guitars. Flirty licks hearken 60’s rock n roll in them, bringing the track to a measured close.
‘Mother’ marks a steady movement out of the post-punk pigeonhole into a wider soundscape for Buggs. Dousing their typical affability in a familiar warmth, brought home by the swinging 60s folk rhythms that brace the track.
Photo by Juliusz Grabianski
The New issue of So Young is out now Ft. Just Mustard, Viagra Boys, Horsegirl, Fat Dog, Opus Kink and more. Grab your print copy here or read the digital edition below.