Just 10 years on from their debut album, Stepmother returns with a fresh lineup and a brand-new album: BRING ME FLOWERS AND TELL ME YOU LOVE ME.
Stepmother’s original core – Lukas Simonis (Dull Schicksal, Bazip Zeehok, Coolhaven), Jeroen Visser (Tetras, Rhumbus B., Fendika & K-Sanchis) and Bill Gilonis (The Work, The Hat Shoes, Hail) – has been expanded to include vocalist/multidisciplinarian Tisa World and drummer Philipp Ernsting (Albatre, Doktor Schnitt), thereby creating an Anglo-Dutch-Slovenian-German formation that feels familiar and at the same time utterly innovative.
Work on the new release began shortly after Stepmother’s first album “Calvary Greetings” came out, but progress was initially slow as the recordings seem to lack a component that was both crucial and elusive. When outstanding singer Tisa World entered the picture, however, everything clicked and the record was completed relatively fast.
What is different from the first album? Back then it was “...Anglo-American-Dutch post-punk prog rock and experimental soundscapes with a dash of Bonzo Dog Band thrown in...”. What more could you ask for?Well, this time the journey is just as eclectic musically, with nifty electronics, spooky horn sections, gritty guitars and inspired drumming by Ernsting. But over it all, Tisa World’s captivating voice takes us to uncharted territories, completing and complementing the instrumental parts while leading us from succulent plants to great trading days (revisited), and from drunken gamblers to goblin markets.
The album really is (way) more than the sum of its parts – and once again it comes beautifully packaged with artwork by graphic design maestro Alfred Boland.
Some sort of time – possibly splendid – is guaranteed for all!
Limited Green Vinyl LP (only 100 copies made!)

