Toronto-based duo Mother Tongues have unveiled a new single from their forthcoming debut album Love in a Viscous Way with the release of the earnestly melancholic “Worm Day.” Comprised of vocalist/bassist Charise Aragoza and guitarist/vocalist Lukas Cheung, it’s the second offering to come from the album following its scintillating lead single “A Heart Beating.” But on their latest preview of the record — which promises to be an emotionally visceral dive into the band’s ode to teenage-charged sentimentalism — they take a far dreamier route.
On “Worm Day,” Mother Tongues pen and compose a song devoted to uncovering the ways intrusive thoughts can sometimes bore their way into your mind. Festering and ceaseless, they don’t go away and instead seem to encourage their continued manifestation in our brains throughout the day. The song hitches those thoughts to romantic love, the song spiraling alongside its gleaming riffs and somber-rock sonics. Like Molly Rankin of pensive rockers Alvvays or Robert Smith of The Cure, Aragoza wields a voice that is both mesmeric and a sublime conductor of the tender angst that Mother Tongues evokes.
The song also highlights the sonic sprawl that the band architects within each of its songs. Alongside Cheung’s dreamily gloaming guitar, the band is joined for the songs on the upcoming record by Kvesche Bijons-Ebacher (synths), Lane Halley (guitar), and Nick Kervin (drums). The result is a collection of soundscapes that envelop with their aural warmth as much as they provide virulent catharsis. Whether it’s a hypnotic mix of scattered riffs that float hauntingly as on “Worm Day,” or a blend of shimmering psychedelia and dream-pop that explodes effervescently on “A Heart Beating.”
“Worm Day” also comes with a music video created by Cheung and Carson Teal, which splices together edited footage of the band performing and behind-the-scenes moments. The collage of moments serves to add a bittersweet but more optimistic slant to the song’s words, emerging as an ode to nostalgia as well as all the people that both Aragoza and Cheung feel indebted to as a band. It’s an emotional and energizing video that finds the band at the threshold of all the momentum that’s been building behind them since they started making music back in 2019.
“The video is a little window into our universe, a celebration of the people and adventures that have gotten us to where we are,” explains Cheung. “A collage of footage from tours, studio performances, artwork from our brilliant friends, and other little snapshots from our lives.”
Love in a Viscous Way the new album from Mother Tongues is out on Jul. 21!
Visit Mother Tongues on their Bandcamp and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Mother Tongues tour
06/02 – Toronto, ON – Monarch Tavern *
06/03 – Kingston, ON – Hotel Wolfe Island *
06/04 – Montreal, QC – Diving Bell *
06/07 – St. John’s, NL – Lawnya Vawnya Festival
06/10 – Sarnia, ON – Maud’s Variety
06/23 – Calgary, AB – Sled Island Music Festival~
07/27 – Peterborough, ON – Jethro’s Bar
08/05 – Sackville NB, – SappyFest
* with The Mattson 2
~ with Pom Pom Squad
Words: Steven Ward
Watch the music video for “Worm Day” the new single from Mother Tongues below!
This post may contain affiliate links. Ads and affiliate links are how independent blogs like Grimy Goods can operate and pay our staff. Thank you for supporting our work and being a part of our music community.
