Irish double-guitar five-piece Mother Mooch give a somewhat brooding impression in their new video to herald the Krauted Mind Records release of their debut album, Nocturnes. That label, based in Germany, is probably best known for psychedelic outings by the likes of Vibravoid and Pyramidal, and Mother Mooch have a touch of the ethereal to them as well, but “Hive Mind” shows by and large a darker vibe, partly indebted to progressive metal and slowed-down post-grunge, the plod underlying in Danni Nolan‘s drums providing an anchor to bring the vocals of Chloë Ní Dhúada to ground and give the airy guitars of Sid Daly and Farl some structure, further breadth added in Jack Dandy‘s steering of the low end.

The song itself builds tension early and holds it for the duration with denser noise-rock riffing taking hold momentarily past the three-minute mark, and the video directed by Shannon Moncrief takes the fivesome out into the woods to capture some performance footage and smoothly edit it in with a sort of “sheeple” narrative, extras in masks popping up to add to an overarching creepy vibe, which of course a sheep mask will almost always do. A catchy chorus emerges to go with the instrumental hook of plucked guitar notes, and “Hive Mind” rolls forth its critique on a fluid bed of tone and melody, familiar in affect but hardly offensive in that, and piquing the interest as to how the rest of Nocturnes plays out, if the metallic taste here becomes more of a factor or recedes in favor of ambient fare.

Only one way to find out, I guess.

Enjoy the clip for “Hive Mind,” followed by more info from the band, below:

Mother Mooch, “Hive Mind” official video

Independent Irish rockers Mother Mooch have unveiled their darkly cinematic Hive Mind Official Video, taken from their 2015 debut album Nocturnes. Accentuated by the stunning autumnal landscape of Donadea Forest, the video explores concepts of conformity and indoctrination; themes consistent with the song’s dark tone and lyrics. Filmed on location in Donadea Forest Park, Kildare, Ireland by director Shannon Moncrief and cinematographer Philip Blake, and produced by Mother Mooch and Shannon Moncrief. Speaking about the video, lead singer and lyricist Chloë Ní Dhúada said “We’re extremely grateful for all the hard work everyone put into making this beautiful piece of atmospheric art, the end result is even better than we could have hoped for.”

Their debut EP “Preludes”, released in March 2015, began attracting fans from around the globe and brought them to the attention of national and international music media. Their fully self produced debut album “Nocturnes” was released on Friday 13th November 2015 and has received glowing reviews at home in Ireland and throughout the international heavy underground. Songs from the album have featured on radio stations, websites, blogs, podcasts and youtube channels throughout Ireland, Europe and the US.

Mother Mooch are set to release a vinyl edition of “Nocturnes” through independent German Psych/Stoner Rock label Krauted Mind Records in summer 2016, with Irish, UK and European shows later in the year in support of the album to follow appearances on the Irish summer festival circuit.

Pandora Pictures

Director – Shannon Moncrief
Cinematographer – Philip Blake
Video Editor – Carolina Caetano
Camera Assistant – Padraic Conaty
Art Director – Eleonora Volpe
Hair and Make up – Marie Murphy, Aminah Bajwa
Location Assistant – Trish Groves
Photographer and Runner – Du Jingze
Catering – Sharon Nolan

Vocals – Chloë Ní Dhúada
Guitar and Vocals – Sid Daly
Guitar – Farl
Drums – Danni Nolan
Bass – Jack Dandy

Mother Mooch on Thee Facebooks

Mother Mooch website

Krauted Mind Records

Tags: Dublin, Ireland, Krauted Mind Records, Mother Mooch, Mother Mooch Nocturnes, Nocturnes

This entry was posted on Monday, June 13th, 2016 at 8:43 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.