Mob Wife Release Visceral and Vital New EP ‘ROT’ – (Irish Punk Rock)
Formed in 2018, Mobwife have been making a very noisy and abrasive name for themselves, putting out a slew of singles and splits, and appearing on zeitgest capturing compilation, ‘A Litany of Failures, Vol III’. This culminated with the band’s debut album ‘Eat With Your Eyes’, released in 2022. Drawing on influences from the American underground by way of Metz, Fugazi, Protomartyr and of course, Kiss. The band now return with their new follow up EP ‘Rot’. Building on the momentum of 2025 singles, the sardonic ‘Thank God For Car Parks’ and blistering ‘Make You Rich’, which drew attention from Hot Press, The Thin Air, Chordblossom, IMRO, First Music Contact, Ragged Cast, Turn Up The Volume Blog and Music Sonar Radio and was selected as one JOE.ie’s Tracks of the Week and Uber Rocks Pick of the Week. Over the course of the five tracks the band cast their eye over the world around them and spit back the toxic soup they survey from urban decay to vacuous influencer culture to generational decline. All this over a gargantuan sound that is an angular as it is melodic and as pounding as it nuanced. Voices of discontent that aren’t prepared to accept mediocrity.
MOb Wife – Echo Chamber (Focus track Spotify link)
Following the release of their debut album ‘Eat With Your Eyes’, expectation was high for album number two. The band retreated to their Belfast practice space and began working up new material. After writing almost 3 albums worth of material the band took stock and decided that a fresh approach to the new material was required. The band were keen to move away from previous structurally complex songs and focus on a more straight forward and groove orientated while maintaining the markers of the Mob Wife sound. This new approach is heard on ‘Rot’ with the band working collaboratively through ideas, developing their sound further and expanding on ideas which resulted in the bands most realised work to date.
The EP comes tearing out of the gate with the blistering ‘Heard and Resented’, following a gasping breath from Chris a torrent of words and music are unleashed. Frustrations with navigating modern life are vented over, in the words of the band ‘A fast, dumb, punk song’. Punk, yes – dumb, no. Sonically everyone occupies their own space, Carl’s cardiac bass provides the pulse for the song, while Chris’s guitar lacerates with more abrasive tones and Wilson’s drums drive the track forward, adding ebb and flow. An attention capturing opener.
Next up is first single to be taken from the EP, ‘Thank God For Car Parks’. Developed in the bands practice room as each member takes their respective hammer to the anvil. Drawing lyrical inspiration from the massive change in urban landscape in Belfast, favouring overpriced student housing over venues, bars, restaurants & spaces where a community can thrive. Progress and profit over everything. All filtered through a tongue in cheek narrative of male urban landowner in a city including car parks who (aside from being sexual aroused by it) is thankfully for his opportunity to make so much money off of the poor and needy. Taking it’s title from a Twitter thread that discussed leaving a portion of Ormeau park to further a car park, one reply simple said “Thank God for Car Parks”.
At the turning point of the EP, track three is the pummelling, ‘Echo Chamber’. Wilson’s drums hammer out an insistent drum pattern, underpinned by a droning guitar riff and a discordant bass riff that is reminiscent of one of the scene’s greats, Brian Cook. For a song that would easily soundtrack your impending unconsciousness as you slam your head repeatedly into the wall fuelled by work place frustrations, it is laden with hooks. The Pettibone-esque refrain of ‘Lick the boot’ and as the tension builds to crescendo half way through the song then breaks, ‘echo, echo, echo..’. Stay with you long after the noise stops.
Penultimate track ‘Burn The Former Things’ was borne of accident. During the demoing process for the EP the riff presented itself out of the ether, the band grabbed a hold and ‘stuck some mics in front to see what would happen’. The ‘jam-it-out’ approach to songwriting in this instance gives the song more air and space than the previous tracks. As it moves through different movements you can hear the band stretching and searching, listening and playing off each other. Written while Chris was buying his first house, lyrically he vents his spleen on what he describes as ‘one of the most disheartening, mentally exhausting processes.’
‘Make You Rich’ was the song that broke the damn for the band, opening the flood gates for new songs and helped set the direction for a new batch of material, a visceral punk rock exorcism. ‘Make You Rich’ is truly the result of the special alchemy that happens between the three members. Unhurried in making its point, across the tracks 5-minute runtime, the band lock in together to deliver a pummelling rhythm under Chris’s serrated blade melody. The lyrical inspiration for the song comes from an ill-advised foray into the world of TikTok and the uneasy myriad of anti-feminist, racist and misogynistic content that was being presented as a default on the platform. Written as a satire on the influencer culture being peddled to the masses, Chris wrote from their viewpoint, particularly basing it around one local influencer. Say ‘I’m a winner’ three times into a mirror and he’ll appear.
When it came time to record the ‘Rot’ EP Mob Wife opted to record vocals and drums in Belfast based studio, Half Bap Studios making full use of the space and equipment afforded by a studio. Then turning to Carl, already an experienced audio engineer, to record bass and drums in their practice space and mix the track. This approach allowed the band space and time to focus in on elements of the track free of the ticking clock of the studio.
Art work for the track comes from Matt Murdock, a talented film photographer who goes by Reves En Noir on Instagram. The band were keen to have the theme of urban decay represented across the singles and EP, reflecting the ever-changing urban landscape of the city they live in. The layout was done by Georgia Collins, Peach Illustrate.