Barcelona’s Mourn. They’ve just dropped ‘This Feeling Is Disgusting’ and it’s a perfect indie rock banger – two-chord punk guitars, sweet/rageful vocals, jumpabout beat. “Self Worth”, out now via Captured Tracks, is the Barcelona trio’s fourth album, and it follows 2018’s Sopresa Familia, which was characterized by the seething anger Mourn felt after being manipulated by their previous record label. Self Worth is imbued with a similarly intoxicating vigour and celebration of each other, but it also has a cool confidence, and both melodic ease and intrigue. With an approach to rock and post-punk that’s both straightforward and unusual, Mourn remain one of the most underrated bands going.
Adversity does not incite the best feelings: frustration, anger, fear, anxiety – nothing unusual for today’s world. The members of Mourn know quite a bit about these setbacks, but a latent belief persists within: the negative will eventually become positive. It’s the belief of facing and overcoming a problem. To come out reinforced: the wonder of resilience. It’s the belief of what they are worth, whatever people say. It’s the name they chose for their new album: Self Worth.
And it’s precisely self-worth that took Mourn this far. Their journey was premature, with their self-titled debut album – released in 2014 when all the members were still minors – earning them widespread critical acclaim and devoted fans. They followed with two more: Ha, Ha, He (2016) and Sorpresa Familia (2018), and became intercontinental with tours in North America, Europe, and Japan. An indie dream come true for Jazz Rodríguez and Carla Pérez Vas, both born in 1996 in El Maresme, Catalonia, where the two became inseparable in high school. That bond remains today, and when their voices and guitars combine it is pure fire.
Of course, there were obstacles along the way: a local label with mismanaged finances and careless managers, and more recently, a line-up change with Antonio Postius no longer on the drums. The band isn’t the same as when they formed. The world isn’t either. Mourn grew up, and that’s evident in the songs that make up Self Worth. Their melodies – energetic and captivating – venture into less level grounds, and their lyrics show their newfound readiness to tackle issues of a different weight and size.
Self Worth began to take shape in the spring of last year. Back then, things weren’t going so well. “We were in a very bad moment; the group dynamics were no longer working with Antonio. We didn’t feel like we could write a record with him. It didn’t work. So in the end he left,” Jazz recalls. “I think his departure was something that had to happen. We no longer understood each other. And it got to the point where it wasn’t comfortable, either on tour or in rehearsals. So it was a very positive change. It gave us the peace of mind we needed,” Carla adds. In May, once freed from the “bad vibes”, Jazz and Carla took refuge for almost a week in a small house in the mountains, near the Pyrenees in France, to start projecting their next album. No phones, no internet. Just what they needed to write and record demos. New melodies, lyrics and guitar parts appeared, and with these first songs, they returned to Catalonia, where Leia Rodríguez – bassist and sister of Jazz – and Víctor Pelusa – the new drummer – were waiting. “We finished it with the four of us together, at the end of that summer,” Carla says. Jazz: “We’ve been able to enjoy the process of writing an album throughout the summer. In the past that could only happen under pressure.”
The track is from forthcoming album, “Self Worth”, out October 30th via Captured Tracks.
“The song is really about fear of the future, being anxious about what’s going to happen, not knowing if you’re going to be able to earn a living or not. It’s a really happy song, but one that represents being stressed out. The idea of “I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford an apartment any time soon, but hey, let’s dance and have fun!” That’s the concept behind it, and that’s what I was thinking about while writing the lyrics. I also thought about my parents, and everyone’s parents. They often have high expectations for you, or they want a certain lifestyle for you, and you don’t always agree with that. So you try so hard to do life your own way, but you’re super stressed out and you’re scared, and every now and then you think “Is it worth it?” In the end, I think it’s worth it.”
Official video for “This Feeling Is Disgusting”, from Mourn’s new album “Self Worth”
The Fat Angel Sings 