Nine Months After Bearing Its Debut, Electronic Folk Duo Mom Remains a Force in Denton

After parting ways with their Meroë cohort, the elements of Mom just started falling into place. Combining the influences of found-sound experimentalists The Books and of finger-picking acoustic guitarist Owen, Mom's sound began to meld into what it is today, one that merges the speculative distance of the former with the instantaneous affection created by the latter.

"I like to visualize it as a quilt," Blay says, flashing a knowing smile North's way.

"My mom's a quilter," North offers with a shrug.

"We [Blay, North and their fellow Denton roommates] all have quilts from Joel's mom," Blay quickly counters. "And it's like, I dunno, the coolest art form ever. It keeps you warm."

"It's different pieces that come together as a whole, which is kind of what making an album is like," North adds. "I would see my mom going through fabric stores, trying to find the perfect little piece to fit in certain squares, and that's the same sort of thing we have with our music."

As in quilting, the duo's songwriting process is an organic one, in which the songs just build themselves up out of the elements they've acquired. And that, at this point, barely includes the vocal element. That's one area Mom expects to develop as it completes its new release, though—so long as it doesn't infringe upon where the band happily stands with its current sound.

"It's joyful and somber," Blay says. "It kind of makes me feel like I'm at home."

"We wanted to make music that would be enjoyable, that wasn't taxing on anybody," North adds. "Like, my 70-year-old father listens to that record. And my mom listens to it while she's quilting. So that's kind of the idea."

And that's kind of the idea behind the band's name as well. There's a story there—one the band prefers not run in print—but given the band's comforting sound of soothing repetition and stirring build-ups, the moniker does make perfect sense.

"Moms are big parts of homes," Blay says, continuing the "home" theme.

True. But they're also responsible for a lot of nagging, guilt and eye-rolling.

"Yeah," North says, with a laugh. "But that's only until you're 19, 20. And then, hopefully, your mom has let go and decided to let you live your own life. This is our appreciation of it."

An appreciation about which these young men's mothers must be quite proud.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone.