Search - Babes In Toyland :: Mother

Why you should buy this album

jack calico | rancho santa margarita, CA United States | 12/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"in my humble opinion, Babes in toyland is the best 3 piece punk band ever, and i love to turn people on to them whenever i get the chance. while theres no such thing as a bad babes album, i would stongly recomend To Mother to anyone unfamiliar with their music as a good introduction to them.
the recordings have this great eerie echoing quality, that gives the melodic dischord a really solid feel, and with the exception of primus (which while sung by Lori, who did a stand up job on magic flute, dogg, and ragweed; comes across as sloppy) the albums tracks are expertley ordered, winding you up to bring you down to wind you up again.
i'd have to say that the best song here is Ripe, which is (to me at least) so heart-breakingly beautiful it borders on being emotionally exhausting if listened to too much. i think peoples biggest misconception about the Babes is that Kat's vocals are just a bunch of angry screaming, and i agree with kat when she said in an article that she's not so much angry as passionate.
Listening to To Mother you can hear a whole spectrum of emotion, her elemental howling carrying a sense of irony and loss, and her lyrics while at first glance could be considerd simplistic, have a cathartic bite that creeps up on you.
in the Babes i have found a well that never runs dry, and while they have been broken up for a while, i never get tired of their music. i hope that this inspires like minded people to give them a chance. i promise you wont be sorry for it.

p.s. if you like Babes in toyland, i urge you to check out Kats new band Katastrophy Wife....its not the babes, but definatley stands up in its own right."

Pure punk rock genius

Jen Beane | chicago | 01/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just got this CD yesterday,and i've been listening to this non-stop. I even had a hard time sleeping,since I had song lyrics running through my head all night long!My absolute favorite is the cool,classic tough punk rock chick anthem "Catatonic",which has the catchiest lines ("one two three four five-glad youre not alive,six seven eight nine ten,back to hell again"),and the best vocals and instrumentals.My NEW favorite Babes in Toyland song."Laugh my Head Off" is another great song,along with"Spit to see the Shine," and "The QUiet Room".This album's version of"Mad Pilot" is easier to listen to than "Fontanelle's" version. "Ripe" is a classic Babes song,and its catchy and it rocks at the same time.The only sond I dont like is "primus" I love the instrumentals,I just don't like Lori Barbero's singing.This album is a definite 5,and even though I love the harsh "Spanking Machine" debut,this one is more melodic,yet it still retains the wildchild rock feel.Sometimes Kat's genius gets lost in overextended screams,and her lyrics are so deep and complex,but they do tend to get lost under he screaming.I know theyre punk,but sometimes its a shame.On "to Mother",Kat's voice takes on a whole new level,one that rivals "Fontanelle,"even though this record precedes it.ANyway,I recommend this album to anyone,espe first time Babes listeners.Go buy it you'll love it!"

Catatonic planet

Dangerous Soybean | Georgia. | 05/30/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is definitely worth owning for a few tracks (notably "Catatonic", with its skipping drumbeat), but it doesn't compare to "Fontanelle" or "Spanking Machine"."