Mourn - Sorpresa Familia (2018)

Punk firebrands Mourn began as a collaboration between guitarists/vocalists Jazz Rodríguez Bueno and Carla Pérez Vas, a pair of teenage friends from El Maresme, Catalonia, Spain. Bueno grew up in a musical family: her father Ramón, a musician who performs as the New Raemon, introduced her to Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, and other artists who influenced her raw songwriting style. When she met Vas at school, their shared fondness for '90s indie rock led them to make music together. The pair uploaded videos of their bracing acoustic songs online, where they caught the attention of the Spanish label Sones. To record their first album, Mourn became a quartet, adding drummer Antonio Postius and bassist Leia Rodríguez (who was just 15 when she joined). The band recorded its self-titled debut album in two days, and Sones released it in September 2014. The following February, Captured Tracks re-released Mourn. Just over a year later, the band returned with Ha, Ha, He., which included songs informed by Throwing Muses, mid-'90s Chicago post-rock, and the poetry of William Blake. ~ Heather Phares