Animal Mother (album)

Animal Mother is the tenth album by Today Is the Day, released on October 21, 2014 by Southern Lord Records.

Animal Mother
Studio album by
Today Is the Day
ReleasedOctober 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)
RecordedWinter 2013–Spring 2014
StudioAERM, Orland, Maine
Genre
Length45:15
LabelSouthern Lord
ProducerSteve Austin
Today Is the Day chronology
Pain Is a Warning
(2011)		 Animal Mother
(2014)		 No Good to Anyone
(2020)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Echoes and DustFavorable[2]
Exclaim![3]
Punk News[4]
The Sleeping ShamanFavorable[5]
Sputnik Music[6]
Terrorizer[7]

Background

Most of the album's material was written in response to the deteriorating mental and physical health, and the death of, Steve Austin's mother.[8] Austin has described the album as being about human relationships between family and friends.[9] The title Animal Mother was chosen for the record because Austin considered the two words to be polar opposites of each other, which he felt matched the overall theme of the album.[10]

The album was first announced in November 2013 on the band's facebook page, in that announcement he also mentioned that the album's lineup will include bassist Sean Conkling and drummer Jeff Lohrber.[11] The band was signed to Southern Lord Records in June 2014, and the album was released on October 21 of that same year on CD and LP formats.[12] The LP edition of the album removed "Bloodwood" from the track list, in its place is a cover of The Melvins' "Zodiac", from their 1991 album Bullhead. The band's bandcamp page includes a version of the album, on digital formats, with both "Bloodwood" and "Zodiac" in the track list. An edition of 100 hand numbered vinyl copies of the album were sold through the band's bandcamp page, all copies were signed by the band. An edition of 400 orange copies were made exclusive for European retailers. There's also an unknown amount of oxblood-orange colored copies made available.

To promote the album, music videos were produced for the tracks "Masada", "Heathen", and "Animal Mother". The band also toured twice, with their intended third tour being cancelled due to a van accident that broke Austin's ribs in his back and his left side. However, he recovered from his injuries five months after the accident and a third tour was set in motion. Before the accident, Today Is the Day were touring with Eyehategod, Iron Reagan, and Power Trip.

Inside the liner notes for the album is a quote that reads "the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep", which is a direct reference to the 1977 film Telefon.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steve Austin, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Animal Mother" 4:57
2."Discipline" 2:58
3."Sick of Your Mouth" 3:32
4."Imperfection" 1:25
5."Law of the Universe" 2:19
6."Outlaw" (acoustic) 3:49
7."Godcrutch" 2:29
8."Divine Reward" 0:57
9."Masada" 3:45
10."Heathen" 2:18
11."Mystic" 3:15
12."The Last Strand" 2:35
13."Outlaw" 3:49
14."Bloodwood" (Only on CD and bandcamp download) 7:08
15."Zodiac" (Only on LP and bandcamp download)Buzz Osborne, The Melvins4:10

Personnel

Adapted from the Animal Mother liner notes.[13]

Today Is the Day

Production and design

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States 2014 Southern Lord CD, LP LORD202

References
  1. Heaney, Gregory. "Animal Mother". Allmusic. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  2. Klassen, Michael. "Animal Mother Review". echoesanddust.com. Echoes and Dust. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  3. Falzon, Denise. "Animal Mother Review". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  4. Trauma, Tom. "Animal Mother Review". punknews.org. punknews.org. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  5. Visser, Jochem. "Animal Mother Review". thesleepingshaman.com. The Sleeping Shaman. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  6. Jones, Tristan. "Animal Mother Review". sputnikmusic.com. Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  7. Golanski, Benji. "Animal Mother Review". terrorizer.com. Terrorizer. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  8. N/A. "Interview: Steve Austin". invisibleoranges.com. Invisible Oranges. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  9. Crowels, Mark. "Exclusive Interview With Steve Austin From Today Is The Day". Performermag.com. Performer Magazine. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  10. Falzon, Denise. "Today Is The Day's Steve Austin Discusses the Very Personal Inspirations Behind 'Animal Mother'". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  11. "Today Is The Day". Facebook. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  12. "Today Is The Day Signs With Southern Lord Recordings For 'Animal Mother' Album - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  13. Animal Mother (booklet). Today Is the Day. Los Angeles, California: Southern Lord. 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
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