Mom

Like Explosions in the Sky before them, Denton instrumental duo Mom will probably have Hollywood beckoning in no time, begging for evocative new electroacoustic tracks to score the latest indie coming-of-age dramedy. But to relegate Little Brite to background status would be a crime, indeed—because Mom’s newest EP may also be the local debut of the year. “Skipping Stones” opens the record with what sounds like a typewriter before giving way to gurgling water samples and Joel North’s nimbly plucked acoustic guitar, while the robotic chimes and slow, sweeping cello lines of “Sleep Whale” recall Mike Oldfield’s infamous “Tubular Bells.” (And if you’ve ever wanted to hear the late John Fahey fingerpick as an orchestra tunes quietly in the background, look no further than “Airplane Arms.”) Little Brite truly peaks, however, with the high, chiming harmonics of “Josh Likes Me,” in which flurries of notes dart like dragonflies from North’s acoustic, their wings buzzing quietly over sample master Bruce Blay’s frantic tap room percussion. Sure, Grandaddy may have written about the “Broken Household Appliance National Forest,” but Mom moved in and set up camp—brushing pine needles off their samplers and melding folk and electronic music by campfire light. Trust us—one listen to Little Brite and you’ll be ready to pack a tent too.