Mourn

Formed while the band’s members were still in their teens, Barcelona’s Mourn forge a fearless sound inspired by legendarily raw artists like Throwing Muses and Patti Smith as well as mid-’90s post-rock. Equally at home singing about zombies in love (as they did on their 2015 self-titled debut) or soul-sucking record company execs, the band overcame label issues to deliver 2018’s triumphant Sorpresa Familia. 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 uncompromising 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. However, issues with Sones prevented the group from promoting that album to its fullest. Mourn settled with their former label in 2017, and embarked on their first North American tour following that year’s covers EP Over the Wall. The band channeled its legal frustrations into its vibrant third album, Sorpresa Familia, which Captured Tracks released in 2018. ~ Heather Phares