Mother Interlude I

Mother's Tale of Comfort and Calculation Continues: "Interlude I: The Loving Care Of A Mother For A Child" (Video Premiere)


Album sequels are by and large a bad idea, but there’s a certain space where they actually work: bands that truly do prioritize the idea of a narrative in their songwriting can build on the themes and ideas they’ve already laid out without risking coming off like a tired rehash. For Mother, their upcoming single “Interlude I: The Loving Care of a Mother for a Child” isn’t exactly a sequel anyway—as the title and format make clear, it’s a bridge to even more to come, a segue in a story too vast for a single album. Even still, it not only works, it seems like the next logical step.

Expanding on the story the Belgium atmospheric sludge/post-metal band created with their debut album I, this new standalone track is a thirteen-minute odyssey that guides the listener—as well as the protagonist—through a journey laden with hardships where only uncertainty awaits at the end. The massive song heavily leans into atmospheric black metal and farther away from the band’s sludge side, experimenting with a nuanced and more intimate soundscape. It conveys a clear story with broad, vivid strokes of escalation and climax beneath which lurk a host of intricate details that require further inspection. We’re premiering the music video for the track here, which features the band performing on a shrouded stage at Belgium’s Cultuurcentrum De Grote Post. Watch it below:

Kicking off with an incendiary snare drum hit, the track launches into full volume immediately. The song is constructed from deceptively simple leading melodies and motifs, but listening closely (and watching the video) shows some of the exacting detail and articulation that goes into crafting the sound. Piano motifs, though not visibly performed in the video, are very evident in the track and foster the tender, intense atmosphere that fills the first half of the track. After a short break midway through, things take a darker turn: floodlights behind the band light up, revealing what looks like a gathering storm approaching. The melodies turn darker, more bitter, reflecting the protagonist’s guide (the ‘mother figure’ referenced by the band name) perhaps not being the comforting presence initially suspected.

The interlude is a cycle of building, perfecting, and emphasizing motifs: each one seems to linger until it’s achieved some purpose. Like a sculptor endlessly carving away in search of a figure inside, the repetition is less about achieving length and more about making each passage last long enough to convey its message. As with any good interlude, the song doesn’t offer a true conclusion, just a temporary respite—there’s something fitting about not having all the answers here.

The band comments:

We’ve put our hearts into “Interlude I: The Loving Care Of A Mother For A Child”. Writing this is something we wanted to do for a while. The idea was to expand the universe of our debut album I, so writing a short story fitted in perfectly. Lyrically the interlude is a continuation of themes that are close to Mother’s essence while we explored our boundaries musically.

“Interlude I: The Loving Care Of A Mother For A Child” will release on December 12th via Consouling Sounds, coming along with a re-release of the band’s debut. You can preorder that re-release here.