Music
Press
Leave Your Light On, Stepmothers’ sophomore album, was released in October of this year, just four months after their self-titled debut. These four sincere but hard-nosed tracks mark a clear departure from the band’s preliminary sound – a divergence in-part owed to the increased presence of guitarist Steve Lewis in the new recordings.
This is a no-nonsense batch of songs, tight in their arrangement and to-the-point from start to finish. While Stepmothers’ debut featured mostly songs written by front man Troy Snaterse and then adapted to a full-band sound after the fact, Leave Your Light On offers a more integrated product. The raw quality of the instrumentation lends them the blue-collar feel that the lyrics are gunning for, keeping with a tradition championed by The Replacements in the eighties (Snaterse has even adopted the Paul Westerberg rasp).
Each track follows a predictable but satisfying progression, and with candour in the lyrics and a simplicity to the songs themselves, each hits you right on the chin. Galvanized by a deep and driving percussion section compliments of drummer Matt Punyi and bassist Nic Mac, the closing song “No Friends” works most to this effect.
Though punk sensibilities are evident throughout, this release isn’t afraid to make use of a few hooks or a memorable chorus. It conveys a level of sophistication that many acts within the same genre simply do not. See the title-track, “Leave Your Light On,” which stays with the listener long after the record’s stopped.
The band’s short but prolific existence shows an abundance of promise, and one could reasonably expect another release early into 2013. They’ve recently joined up with Open Circles, an Edmonton-based art collective that features a handful of other acts who call the area home. It’s a partnership that should yield good things for everyone involved.
Music fans in the area continue to bear witness to a group of bands that are proud to be from Edmonton. But with an unsettling accuracy in their lyrics and the musical grit to back it up, Stepmothers is doing justice to the place itself. - Wordkrapht.com
Leave Your Light On, Stepmothers’ sophomore album, was released in October of this year, just four months after their self-titled debut. These four sincere but hard-nosed tracks mark a clear departure from the band’s preliminary sound – a divergence in-part owed to the increased presence of guitarist Steve Lewis in the new recordings.
This is a no-nonsense batch of songs, tight in their arrangement and to-the-point from start to finish. While Stepmothers’ debut featured mostly songs written by front man Troy Snaterse and then adapted to a full-band sound after the fact, Leave Your Light On offers a more integrated product. The raw quality of the instrumentation lends them the blue-collar feel that the lyrics are gunning for, keeping with a tradition championed by The Replacements in the eighties (Snaterse has even adopted the Paul Westerberg rasp).
Each track follows a predictable but satisfying progression, and with candour in the lyrics and a simplicity to the songs themselves, each hits you right on the chin. Galvanized by a deep and driving percussion section compliments of drummer Matt Punyi and bassist Nic Mac, the closing song “No Friends” works most to this effect.
Though punk sensibilities are evident throughout, this release isn’t afraid to make use of a few hooks or a memorable chorus. It conveys a level of sophistication that many acts within the same genre simply do not. See the title-track, “Leave Your Light On,” which stays with the listener long after the record’s stopped.
The band’s short but prolific existence shows an abundance of promise, and one could reasonably expect another release early into 2013. They’ve recently joined up with Open Circles, an Edmonton-based art collective that features a handful of other acts who call the area home. It’s a partnership that should yield good things for everyone involved.
Music fans in the area continue to bear witness to a group of bands that are proud to be from Edmonton. But with an unsettling accuracy in their lyrics and the musical grit to back it up, Stepmothers is doing justice to the place itself. - Wordkrapht.com
Discography
Stepmothers EP
released: July 2012
Leave Your Light On 7"
released: October 2012
B-Sides
released: December 2012
Photos
Bio
Respect for tradition with the sophistication to shake it off. Deadpan expression of a staunchly honest vision. Stepmothers has evolved into a band with an unsentimental, unrelenting sound.
Originally formed as a three-piece for the purpose of complimenting a batch of mellow preliminary songs written by guitarist/vocalist Troy Snaterse, they released their self-titled debut in the summer of 2012. After the addition of guitarist Steve Lewis, they wrote the seven-inch Leave Your Light On, their most recent release. With noticeable growth in their composition process, the group has come to embrace many of the same sensibilities as punk architects Iggy and The Stooges and Radio Birdman. Still, careful progressions and well-crafted hooks tell us that Stepmothers has the savvy and the guts to go above and beyond genre expectations.
All of this translates clearly to their forceful, dynamic live show. In the past year, they have put together a successful west coast tour and shared the stage with Ladyhawk, Baby Eagle, and most recently, Brooklyn’s The Men, also selected for 2013 Sled Island to play with Warm Soda. Bound by other commitments to their hometown of Edmonton, Alberta for the majority of the year, they continue to support, enrich, and thrive within the city’s prolific music scene.
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