Photo by: Aleksandra Savchenko
There is something wonderfully contradictory about calling an EP Can’t Help But Feel Dramatic when the music makes such a convincing argument that the emotions involved deserve every bit of the attention they’re demanding.
For Cork five-piece Other Mother, drama isn’t something to be embarrassed about. It’s a creative necessity, an opportunity to turn frustration, vulnerability and unapologetic feminine rage into something gloriously loud, occasionally beautiful and frequently unpredictable.
Across their five-track debut EP, Can’t Help But Feel Dramatic, the self-described bubblegrunge outfit makes a compelling case for feeling everything at full volume.
Opening track ‘not sorry’ establishes that attitude immediately, blending evocative spoken word with pop-punk urgency and the kind of theatrical confidence that suggests Other Mother have little interest in making themselves smaller for anybody else’s comfort. There’s an appealing defiance to the approach, but also an understanding that anger becomes considerably more interesting when it’s allowed to coexist with humour, vulnerability and melody.
‘anymore’ pushes further into the band’s post-punk instincts, its gritty guitar work and driving energy providing a more confrontational edge. Yet Other Mother rarely allow their arrangements to become straightforward exercises in aggression. Electronic textures, unexpected melodic flourishes and moments of restraint continually disrupt the momentum, keeping the music as emotionally unpredictable as its subject matter.
That contrast becomes particularly effective on ‘fish to fry’, where atmospheric alt-rock textures expand the band’s sound beyond its more abrasive foundations. There’s a sense of space beneath the distortion, allowing the arrangement to breathe without sacrificing its intensity.
‘worm song’ offers another example of the band’s willingness to challenge expectations, beginning in more ethereal, emotionally exposed territory before developing into something altogether more forceful. It’s a transition that captures much of what makes Other Mother compelling: the ability to move between fragility and fury without treating either as a contradiction.
Recorded in the countryside of West Cork at Wavefield Recordings, the EP also benefits from a distinctly collaborative identity. Although vocalist Willow and Fionn often establish the foundations of the songs together, the contributions of Bláthnaid, Cathal and Conor give the arrangements their unpredictable character.
That collective chemistry is particularly impressive for a debut. Having originally formed as a covers band, with influences ranging from Radiohead to Fiona Apple and Honey Glaze, Other Mother have developed a sound that acknowledges its inspirations without becoming beholden to them. Their combination of grunge, post-punk, psychedelia and electronics feels less like an attempt to fit into an established genre than an effort to create enough room for all their competing instincts.
What ultimately makes Can’t Help But Feel Dramatic work is its refusal to separate emotional honesty from musical ambition. The rage is real, but so is the tenderness. The guitars can be abrasive, but the melodies remain inviting. Even at its most chaotic, the EP feels carefully constructed rather than simply uncontrolled.
For a band whose music explores mental health and the complicated realities of being human, that refusal to simplify things feels entirely appropriate.
After all, emotions rarely arrive neatly organised, and Other Mother aren’t particularly interested in pretending otherwise.
Can’t Help But Feel Dramatic is a striking introduction to a band who understand that sometimes the most reasonable response to an unreasonable world is to make an enormous amount of noise about it.
