The ’80s were a crazy time. The media, the people, the culture, the fashion; everything seemed so unique and established. The music of the ’80s was no different, evolving the Punk Rock invasion of the late ’70s into various underground subgenres, seeing Hip Hop music emerge and blast into the mainstream, watching the world of Metal becoming diverse and distinct (or at least as cocaine fueled as the artists), and finally ending on what would become the birth of the Grunge movement in the early ’90s. However, somewhere in the musical melting pot existed the moment that New Wave music emerged as the phoenix rising from its own ashes of obscurity, diverging from the more Blues oriented sound of its 1970s manifestation and becoming the “new” New Wave. This shift in sound and tone would create a massive, lasting impact on the music industry, as evidenced by the modern New Wave revival movement. Enter Mother Empire. Hailing from Denmark, Mother Empire was formed in 2011 by members Morten Jaeger (vocals, keys), Steffen Buhl Larsen (guitars), Ram (bass), Sven Busck Andersen (drums), and Morten Ørberg (keys). The band has established a headquarters in FishCorp Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and has been working for the four years since their conception to record and produce their debut album entitled The System released via Target Records on September 24, 2015.
The System is an album which, upon the first notes of the opening track “A Little Mistake,” is immediately recognizable as a New Wave sound. As soon as the album spins, “A Little Mistake” spares no time in delivering a synthesizer lead, deep and low. Combining this with layers of arpeggiated chords, a steady drum beat, and Jaeger’s moody, dark vocals makes for an overwhelming amount of similarity between sounds from bands such as Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode. The track is a fine introduction to the overall sound of the record, focusing on an atmospheric synth lead, with ambient guitar playing in the background.
“Say Nothing At All,” the second track, focuses on an interaction or relationship with a spousal figure, utilizing a much more upbeat drum tempo and a predominant synth that is much brighter and expansive. The song explores the idea that, at times, the best thing to say in a tense or otherwise difficult situation is simply nothing at all. In the titular third track, “The System,” the band flexes their sociopolitical ideas, discussing themes of control and false/forced trust. The song is very Orwellian in nature, as one cannot help but think of 1984 upon hearing lyrics such as, “If you’re taking the wrong turns/And thinking the wrong thoughts/We’ll erase them by remote.” Coupling this with a haunting musical overtone makes for a seriously creepy experience.
Late in the album, the track “And We Celebrate” takes the same dystopian idea for a spin, but expands it globally, commenting on the horrors of war and social chaos, using imagery of a car bombing to really drive the nail into the mind of the listener. The fourth track, “Worthless” takes on the issues and hardships related to drug abuse. The narrator of the track is communicating with a friend or relative who is in the midst of a downward spiral of cocaine addiction, as evidenced by the first verse, “The mirror you forgot to put away/The straws you clipped and licked.” The real gripping element to this track, however, is not the matter of abuse, but instead the difficulties of reaching out to someone in an effort to help when they simply do not want to listen.
“Into the Wild” is a lyrically short song, touching on the concept of “it feels so good to be bad.” The tracks “Forever Alter and Replay” and “Iterations” both focus on an element of storytelling, each showcasing Jaeger’s intentions to paint a picture into the listener’s mind, whether it be the “living in the past” theme of “Forever Alter and Replay” or the horror style of “Iterations.” The closing track, “A Perfect Crime,” is an interesting look at the similarities of dependency and control between that of love, religion, and drug use, drawing a comparison to say that to steal happiness from either one would be a perfect crime, and one devoutly to be pursued.
The System explores a motley crew of topics including love, social control, and dependency, which is an engaging slew of ideas to absorb a listener with. The ability to challenge the thoughts and feelings of an audience is perhaps one of the most beneficial qualities in an artist’s work, however, the biggest downside of the album is the subtle differences between each track. The vocal arrangements and melodies of the instruments of any song can at times feel interchangeable with the rest of the album. This is not to say that there was a lack of effort present, but tracks like “One Fine Day” and “Hands” unfortunately fade into the shadows of the record, where shining tracks like “The System” and “Worthless” demand attention. This is also not to say that there is a complete lack of musical departure to look for, as “Iterations” delivers a much more aggressive sound midway through the song, perhaps to mimic the thematic tone and horror aspect of the lyricism. Just as well, for the sake of all things fair, the band is from Denmark, and English would no doubt be a second language, making communication of themes into a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and as well, it must be considered that this is a debut from a very young and experimentally promising band. CrypticRock gives Mother Empire’s debut, The System, 3 out of 5 stars.
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