Cursive: Mama, I'm Swollen (2009)

New Wax


Judging by the foreboding album artwork, which features a blood-red dripping moon reflected over an oil-black ocean, Cursive's Tim Kasher doesn't seem too keen on embracing his inner optimist. The Cursive/The Good Life front man has always unabashedly worn his grief and frustration like proud war-wounds. Unicorns and butterfly kisses just aren't becoming of some songwriters. Perusing songs like the unnerving "We're Going To Hell" and "Mama, I'm Satan," it seems Kasher has also embraced his inner Danzig. While most fans point to The Ugly Organ as the band's highpoint, and deservedly so considering that album's thematic heft, I'm still partial to the guttural viscosity of Domestica. Mama, I'm Swollen is a return of sorts after the less-than-memorable Happy Hollow. Lyrically, Kasher still lives in a space full of contradiction and uncomfortable self-reflection: "I'm at my best when I'm at my worst/ I'm at my worst when it's not rehearsed." While Mama, I'm Swollen may not be Cursive's best album, it's elementally representative of Cursive's draw: a respectable synthesis of Cursive's best attributes. It's dark and creepy yet acerbically playful. It's layered with complexity yet accessible in its raw catharsis. It's difficult yet rewarding. -- Capt. Obvious