Single Mothers
Blue Moose Tap House — Thursday, Sept. 4, 8 p.m.
Fans of raw, ripping punk music are gonna have a hell of a good time this Thursday at the Blue Moose Tap House as London, Ontario’s Single Mothers come to town to shout about how annoying everyone is in a college town, among other things.
Single Mothers play nihilistic, middle-finger waving punk, and they play it so well, their upcoming album Negative Qualities might be the most anticipated debut of the year. Case in point: Their latest single, “Marbles,” boasts one of the best lyrics of the year, “She’s all like, ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, something about McSweeney’s, something about her thesis, something ’bout its meaning.'”
The bands online presence is predicated on one sentence, repeated across nearly every platform: “Single Mothers broke up in 2009 — and have been playing shows ever since.” It’s in that state of self-contradiction that the band thrives, with songs that both celebrate and skewer partying, religion and higher education. Hearing a band actually wrestle with their thematic concerns is rare these days and Single Mothers does so exceedingly well.
This all said, lead singer and lyricist Drew Thomson says he draws his inspiration from groups with polished lyrics and rough voices (both of which he certainly has), citing artists as varied as Bear Vs Shark and Conor Oberst. Single Mothers definitely shares a lineage with Oberst’s political-punk band Desaparecidos, and fans of that band will certainly find a lot to love in Single Mothers.
The show begins at 8 p.m. with a $10 cover.
