Mother Hips Albums (6)
'Kiss the Crystal Flake'
Release Date 4/3/2007
Tracks 12
Label Camera
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What The Critics Say
The Mother Hips broke a long silence with the excellent Red Tandy EP in 2006 and they maintain the excellence on 2007's Kiss the Crystal Flake. Always a band you could count on for fairly straightforward AOR-influenced rock & roll mixed with some heart-on-sleeve balladry, the Hips deliver exactly what you would expect: a solid batch of rockers and ballads recorded cleanly and crisply and performed with an energetic, light touch by the group. The songwriting chores and vocal duties are split pretty evenly between Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono, with the former providing the sweet vocals and poppy tunes, the latter grittier vocals and less structured yet still melodic songs. Their songs blend together almost as well as their soaring vocal harmonies, which give a breathtaking lift to just about every song on the album. The duo tackles just about every style of music you might've heard on an FM rock station in the '70s: hard-charging Petty-esque guitar rock ("White Hills," "No-Name Darrell"), Hall & Oates-styled blue-eyed soul balladry ("Let Somebody"), laid-back boogie rock ("Confirmation of Love," "White Headphones"), Neil Young-derived ballads (the achingly beautiful "Not So Independent"), and semi-soft rock ("TGIM," "In This Bliss"). Even a few you wouldn't have (the disco vocals Bluhm delivers on "TGIM"'s chorus, the spiky indie rock guitars of "Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear"). Despite their obvious debt to the past, any charges of the Mother Hips being simple revivalist are cast aside by their superb songwriting and the emotion on display. Even if they were just rip-off artists, the beauty of their vocal harmonies would make this record damn near essential for fans of good, sweet, and easy guitar rock -- from the '70s or any time at all. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
'The Green Hills of Earth'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 14
Label Future Farmer
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What The Critics Say
Bay Area band Mother Hips come over less hippie/more power popster on Green Hills of Earth. "Life in the City" has the motor drive of early-'80s U.K. new wave; "Take Us Out" has a much lazier, '70s MOR pop feeling. The Beatles could make a case against "Singing Seems to Ease Me," but then Mother Hips wouldn't be the first to take inspiration from Rubber Soul; the pure, California rock vocal choir saves them from pure plagiarism anyway. A step forward on all counts (retro-isms notwithstanding!), Green Hills finds Mother Hips in complete synch with the sonic and verbal pop zeitgeist. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For a band with so much potential Mother Hips' fourth album is disappointing. The production is much crisper than Shootout, the songs are livelier, and the lyrics more discernible. There aren't as many hooks, though, and the few good ones owe their existence to famous songs by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones. It's frustrating that Tim Bluhm never really sounds comfortable in his own songs; if he could dig in a little bit more, wonderful things might happen. ~ Jim Smith, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Shootout begins with the spirited riff of "Can't Sleep At All," one of Mother Hips' best songs. By the time the last (hidden) track pounds to a close, a lot of fine music has gone by, but in the end, something doesn't quite latch. It's not that Mother Hips aren't good musicians, but vague songwriting and boggy production neutralize much of their energy. Tim Bluhm's voice is smothered, warping his otherwise playful lyrics into detached, formulaic murmurs. If his personality ever fully emerges, chances are Mother Hips will turn out some darn good records. ~ Jim Smith, All Music Guide
'Part-Timer Goes Full'
Release Date 8/22/1995
Tracks 14
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
The second album from the Mother Hips, Part-Timer Goes Full and was the first for American Recordings and was released in 1994. The disc continues the guitar-driven roots rock of their debut Back to the Grotto by mixing country, folk, pop and soul together. Part-Timer Goes Full was the band's first attempt to further their sound, but hardly as drastic as The Green Hills of Earth. "We tried to use Beggar's Banquet-era Rolling Stones as a model for the instrumentation," says guitarist and vocalist Tim Bluhm. The Mother Hips use piano and horns on several songs in this set. The standout track is "Bent Carousel" which the band claims is their mix of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and John Sebastian's "Stories We Could Tell." ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide
