Interview: Hidden Mothers
Giving room for melody and allowing space for the softer moments to breathe makes the heavy parts hit much harder in my opinion, and that variety makes for a more interesting listen across the board.
2024 saw the release of Erosion / Avulsion the debut album from Sheffields Hidden Mothers and its mixture of hardcore, screamo and post and black metal was well worth waiting for, and is a thrilling listen from start to finish, packed full of both melody and crushing heaviness. Gavin Brown caught up with Hidden Mothers bassist Liam Knowles and guitarist Luke Scrivens to get the lowdown on the album and the reaction to it, as well as discussing their favourite shows of 2024, their upcoming tours and festival appearances and much more!
E&D: Your debut album Erosion / Avulsion has just been released. How happy have you been to how it has been received?
Liam: Thrilled! The reviews have been fantastic across the board and the support we’ve had has been amazing to see. We weren’t sure how interested people still were because of the gap between releases, but clearly we needn’t have been worried!
Luke: It’s quite daunting putting new work out there, especially for me as the lyricist and the clean vocalist in a predominantly heavy band, and especially as it’s so different to what we’ve done before, but it’s been really lovely. The reception to ‘Grandfather’ in particular has been great because it was such a big swing for us.
E&D: Was the aspect of melody a big thing for this record and for the sound of Hidden Mothers?
Luke: Yes, definitely. Melody absolutely came first when writing these songs. We’ve got some very soft stuff on this record, for example ambient post-rock on ‘Caton Green’ and folk / Americana influences on ‘Grandfather’.
Liam: Giving room for melody and allowing space for the softer moments to breathe makes the heavy parts hit much harder in my opinion, and that variety makes for a more interesting listen across the board. We will continue to make full use of melody in whatever we do going forward.
E&D: As well as being ethereal and melodically uplifting, the album brings the heaviness with screamo / hardcore and post black metal influences. Is it a challenge creating the blending of those sounds?
Luke: It’s challenging in the sense that you have to try to do that blend in a way that feels natural to you and not in a way that feels forced.
Liam: Lots of heavier bands have softer influences so there’s stuff out there that we could emulate, but what’s the point in doing that? Those bands already exist. So we do it in a way that feels right to us. Thankfully people seem to be on board with it, but we’d do it our way regardless.
E&D: What are your favourite screamo / post-black metal / hardcore albums of all time, the ones that are most influential to you?
Luke: Have Heart – Songs To Scream At The Sun is the album that immediately comes to mind. There’s not much of that in our sound, though. In terms of influence, I’d say Garden Window by O’Brother was my introduction to a more “mature” heavy sound , the light and dark, the experimentation, that’s definitely something I’ve taken influence from over the years. Death Spells by Holy Fawn as well has had a huge impact.
Liam: Yeah the ending of our song ‘Haze’ is very Holy Fawn, they’re definitely in the mix of our sound. For me, both in terms of a band I love and a band I take influence from, I’d have to say Birds In Row. Their latest album Gris Klein is proof of how versatile you can be within this genre, and that’s something I really respect. I’m a big melodic hardcore guy as well so I’d have to say Witness by Modern Life Is War if we’re just generally shouting out our faves.
E&D: Who were the biggest influences on both the sound and the outlook of the album?
Liam: The album was written over the course of about three years, so the influences we were leaning on sort of fluctuated throughout that time.
Luke: I almost definitely wouldn’t have written ‘Grandfather’ without listening to Panopticon. I love the fact that he is so overt about his folk / country influences within the frame of a metal project. Even if I had written it, I wouldn’t have considered it to be a Hidden Mothers song without that influence almost giving me permission to do so.’Still Sickness’ is heavily influenced by Holy Fawn, as is the end of ‘Haze’ as we’ve already said.
Liam: I’d say that as well as the obvious post-black metal influences that we started with like Deafheaven and Oathbreaker, we also leaned on a lot of modern post-hardcore like Touche Amore and Pianos Become The Teeth. Ari loves Radiohead and loads of other weird indie stuff, and Adam listens to loads of jazz and ambient / electronic music, so there’s undoubtedly influences from those genres in there as well.
E&D: Have you had any thoughts about any potential new music or is it a bit too soon at the moment?
Luke: Yes, we’ve got the bare bones of about three songs knocking around, but they’re very much in the beginning stages. We’re still trying to figure out what we want to do next as we’ve realised there’s still a lot of our influences that we’ve not fully explored.
Liam: I’d agree with that. Do we do a Full Of Hell record next or a Manchester Orchestra record? Or a bit of both?
Luke: The main thing is that whatever we do, we want the songwriting to feel more cohesive and well structured. It’s easy to build a collection of riffs but not easy to make them feel like a song, so that’s something we really want to level up on our next release.
E&D: What have been some of the best gigs that Hidden Mothers have played this year?
Liam: Arctangent and Portals are maybe the obvious answers, it’s always wonderful to be asked to do events like that. We also played a really cool show in Leeds with Dvne that felt really special.
Luke: I’d say our headline show in Camden. The fact that it was our own show and it was pretty much sold out was great. It was only our third show as a four-piece and we hadn’t released any of the new music at that point so it was great to feel that level of support in a city that isn’t our own.
E&D: What are some other standout gigs that you’ve played to date?
Luke: Getting to play with The Callous Daoboys the first time they ever came to the UK was really cool, I felt like they were the first international band we really struck up an in-person friendship with and we hope to play with them again in the future. Other than that, supporting Yob in Manchester felt massive because of the level of venue and production, it was one of our first shows that felt “proper”.
Liam: For me, getting to play a show with Planes Mistaken For Stars was a dream come true. I’ve loved that band since I was a teenager. Their vocalist Gared passed away not long after the show so I’m just really happy I got to have that moment while he was still here. I also really loved our shows with Wiegedood, Portrayal of Guilt and Gillian Carter.
E&D: You are confirmed for the 2025 Uprising and 2000 Trees festivals. As well as shows with Mastiff and Nordic Giants, you also have some headline dates, are you looking forward to those gigs too?
Luke: Yes! 2025 is looking very busy and exciting, we can’t wait to get out there!
Liam: It’ll be interesting to see if the vibe has changed now that we’re playing songs people have heard! 2000 Trees in particular is a massive one, can’t believe we’re on a poster with Alexisonfire and Coheed & Cambria!
E&D: How do you approach playing bigger festival shows compared to more intimate shows, or does it not matter to you?
Luke: I pack my longer leads if we’re playing a bigger venue. Otherwise it makes absolutely no difference to me. There’s a different vibe, obviously. The buildup feels different. But how we do things on stage is the same either way.
E&D: Going back to the headline dates. You’re playing those headline dates with NYLON, was it important to showcase an up and coming band to play with?
Liam: More than anything it was important to choose a band that we get on with and would be happy to spend a few days in a van with, but I also really like the idea of cross-genre shows in general. Obviously there’s not a million miles between the hardcore scene and what we do, but it will be cool to try and bring those scenes a little closer together.
E&D: Hidden Mothers and NYLON are both Sheffield bands. What is the heavy music scene in the steel city like at the moment and what other bands would you recommend to check out?
Liam: Sheffield always has a decent amount of good bands floating around. At the moment I’d say New Ghost, Mouths, Ba’al, Baosbheinn are the ones that come to mind, as well the obvious bigger names like Malevolence etc. In the wider South Yorkshire scene we’ve got Swamp Coffin in Rotherham and Toronto Blessings in Barnsley. Lots to be going at if you’re a heavy music fan in the area!
E&D: What are your favourite gig venues to play in Sheffield?
Luke: Of the ones we’ve played, Sidney & Matilda.
Liam: I really like the main stage at Corp. We played Bastard Fest in July and it was really great, it’s a much more comfortable stage than the smaller room, although that room is cool too. Just a bit tighter!
E&D: What other alternative places / pubs / record shops etc are your favourites in the city?
Liam: The Albion is the pub we visit as a band the most, and The Washington was the pub we formed in, so those are the two pubs that would definitely form part of our story.
Luke: Bear Tree Records is the only other place that springs to mind! My favourite pub in Sheffield is the Dog & Partridge but that’s not necessarily an alternative pub.
E&D: Who are your favourite ever Sheffield bands?
Luke: Malevolence and Nai Harvest.
Liam: The Miramar Disaster!
E&D: What other UK bands are killing it for you at the moment?
Luke: Pleiades, Copse, Hour of Reprisal, Death Goals, High Vis, Mastiff.
Liam: Lowen, Pijn, Lure In, As Living Arrows, Still, Love Rarely.
E&D: What have been some of the other highlights of 2024 for you and Hidden Mothers?
Liam: Signing to Church Road, getting to play loads of cool shows, but honestly finally getting the album out there after four years since our last release feels like massive weight has been lifted and the next chapter of this band has properly begun.
E&D: What are your hopes for 2025 for the band?
Luke: We’d love to play overseas. If that doesn’t happen in 2025 we’d at least like to get something booked for 2026. Other than that our year is starting to look pretty full already!
Liam: We just want to get out there and introduce as many people to our music as possible. I know that sounds cheesy, but making some art and having it resonate with people is the best feeling.
E&D: What have been some of your favourite records released last year?
Luke: The 2024 albums from Touche Amore, State Faults and Regional Justice Centre.
Liam: Foxing, Chelsea Wolfe, and Julie Christmas all put out amazing records in 2024.
E&D: What are your favourite ever Christmas songs?
Luke: ‘Stay Another Day’ by East 17.
Liam: (goes on to tell the story about how Brian Harvey from East 17 once ate too many jacket potatoes in one go and ran himself over with his own car!) Anyway, mine is ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’ by The Darkness.
E&D: Have you got any New Year’s resolutions for 2025?
Liam: I need to get in better shape because playing loads of shows at 38 years old is hard work and will break me unless I take better care of myself.
Luke: I don’t have any personal ones but I want to make sure that as we move forward as a band we don’t let the stress and pressure of writing a follow up get to us too much. The collective mental health of the four of us, and the quality of the music we make, will be much better if we take our time and let things happen at our own pace.
