Today, The Mother Hips share "I Don't Want To Drive You Away"—the second single to be released from their new studio album, Glowing Lantern, out December 3 on Blue Rose (Listen/Share). It becomes the first cover song The Mother Hips have recorded on a studio album in their 30-year history. Discovered on an Anne Murray cassette that was purchased at truck stop several years ago and originally written by Canadian singer/songwriter David Wiffen, The Mother Hips deliver a lush, vintage rock rendition of the song complete with soaring harmonies and jangling, sublimely-woven guitar interplay along with guest keyboardist Adam MacDougall (Circles Around the Sun) adding exuberant, swirling organ.
"We came across an Anne Murray cassette tape in a truck stop some years back. The album cover was so fascinating to us that we decided to buy it. The music and recording blew us away. Her version of this song in particular with its groove, harmonies and far- out production really spoke to us, so we worked up our own version," explains The Mother Hips' Greg Loiacono for the song's premiere at The Bluegrass Situation. "It's absurd in a way—a rock band covering an Anne Murray song. She's mom music. We had no idea her first record was this weird countrypolitan, psychedelic record with Glen Campbell and all these LA hot shot musicians on it. We'd later realize it was written by David Wiffen whose songs have been recorded by artists like Roger McGuinn, The Cowboy Junkies, The Jayhawks and The Black Crowes, so all in all, it turned out to be a fitting choice for the first ever cover song on a Mother Hips record."
Glowing Lantern was written and recorded through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 11-track collection is a work of great comfort, even as it grapples with the profound anxiety of these troubling and uncertain times. The songs here are weighty ruminations wrapped in unflagging optimism and bittersweet streams of consciousness delivered with a jaunty confidence in better days to come.
Founding members Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono produced the album themselves, and the juxtaposition of darkness and light in their stark lyrics and buoyant arrangements reflect an inherent tension in the human condition as they attempt to make sense of the inexplicable. At the heart of it all, though, is a distinct sense of camaraderie, a feeling of closeness and brotherhood that the band has ironically only come to rediscover as a result of the past year of isolation and lockdowns. As collaborative a record as The Mother Hips have ever made, it's impossible not to feel the joy, gratitude, and friendship radiating from the music within.
The Mother Hips support the release of Glowing Lantern with select U.S. tour dates. Fresh off the 12th edition of their very own festival Hipnic XII in Big Sur, CA, the legendary Northern California-based band—who celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2021—will perform a number of headline shows throughout California, including their annual three-night holiday run at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and two nights at Harlow's in Sacramento to ring in the new year. Additional dates include appearances in Utah and Texas, as well as, their first 2022 performances at the inaugural Tropic of Cancer Festival in Todos Santos, Mexico.
The Mother Hips
Tour Dates:
11/19 - Denton, TX - Dan's Silverleaf
11/20 - Austin, TX - 3Ten Austin City Limits Live
11/27 - Felton, CA - Felton Music Hall
12/3 - Springdale, UT - Bit & Spur Restaurant & Saloon
12/4 - Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room
12/17 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/19 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/30 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
12/31 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
1/12-16 - Todos Santos, MX - Tropic Of Cancer Festival
