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Mother finds Susumu Yokota in an accessible mood, providing some almost dreamy backdrops for a number of female vocalists to guest on. And there are some really beautiful moments here. Breeze, with vocals by Nancy Elizabeth is one such number as is A Flower White, which finds Elizabeth sounding almost breathless over a gently percussive affair. Elizabeth also features on the haunting 12 Days 12 Nights which, with its violins and Mogwai-like guitars, is an obvious highlight.
Don't mistake words like "dreamy" and "beautiful" for bland though. With the possible exception of the soothing Meltwater, which critics could argue veers slightly too close to Enya country for comfort, this never descends into easy listening. A case in point is Natural Process which finds Caroline Ross's vocals almost hidden in the mix to a degree that, on casual listens, it almost passes for an instrumental. There's something almost unsettling, however, about the haunted voice topping the saw-like noises and beats of anguish. The piano based Inside Forsighted, with vocals from Kaori, is another slightly unsettling one. Kaori, along with members of Yokota's label-mates The Chap, also pops up on Tree Surgeon, which has something of an oriental feel and almost military beat.
It all ends with a piano instrumental, Warmth, which actually sounds quite icy to these ears. That's not icy in the lacking emotion sense of the word, but icy in that it feels like something cold and sharp has gone through you, leaving you feeling in a different emotional state than you were before it started.
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