Mother Nature’s Son – The Seven People You Meet In Heaven
Mother Nature’s Son (MNS) are an injection of fresh energy into Buffalo’s music scene. Their synth-meets-guitar music is as intriguing as it is energizing, and they’ve just released a magnum opus of an EP into the world. The Seven People You Meet In Heaven is perhaps unsurprisingly inspired by Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven – a novel that talks about interconnectedness, life meaning, and purpose. Those themes are found all over this EP – wide-eyed in an over-informed (and probably chronically online) kind of way, The Seven People You Meet In Heaven is less your typical pop punk album and more a reflection on what it means to be human, especially in a our post-pandemic, questionably apocalyptic existence that is 2026.
“Wrong Jazz” is the album opener, and it’s a perfect introduction to Mother Nature’s Son’s sound. A cross between the glasses-wearing, Moog-tickled pop punk of Motion City Soundtrack and the frantic ramblings of Prince Daddy and the Hyena, “Wrong Jazz” feels melodic and neurotic all at once. Bubbling bass is plucked at speeds previously unknown to man. A synth laced with portamento groans with a retro, 8-bit glide, bringing up memories of your favorite SNES game’s boss battle theme. Guitars are plucked with intention – serving not only as a distortion-laden backbone, but also as a vehicle for even more hooks. With the emotive vocals that culminate in a top-of-the-range end-song scream, it’s clear this album is undeniably punk, but has been handled with the emotional ferocity of mid-aughts emo music. It’s wrapped up in a literate lyrical package that urges you to dig a little bit deeper.
Big, emotional professions aren’t necessarily the norm here, but lines like “No metaphors or platitudes come anything close to anything you do” pop up in the squiggly “Year Of The False Spring,” perhaps the un-waltz-iest waltz you might ever hear. Love is a part of interconnectedness after all, and these themes slink into track three, “Honeyboy,” which plays around with Midwest emo noodling, layered lush with a horn accompaniment that brings to mind American Football if they took an Adderall. “To Cross The Waters” dives into washy, shoegaze territory, but never loses the youthful fervor of its contemporaries. You might even remember “Angel Attack” from our single feature all the way back in February – it’s worth re-mentioning for it’s fun, swung feel, and the sardonic, Say-Anything-type approach that feels as delusional as it does eye-opening. “Angels of the future refract fragile visions through computers” doesn’t sound so deep-state anymore – it’s a crazy world we live in where even our emo albums have to mention our dystopic existence, but at least they come in a catchy package like this one.
There’s even some stuff on The Seven People You Meet In Heaven for the more esoteric crowd. “Snow” is a simple soundscape, reminiscent of our harsh Buffalo winters that still sting, even as I write this during a brutal heatwave. I found myself delighted by the “Blushing Crow” aspect of “Big Sad,” as I often find myself swapping the first few letters of common phrases/names to appease my wandering thoughts (It works out to the on-brand “crushing blow,” if you’re not following). Especially intriguing is album closer “Happy Birthday,” which harkens back to the glory days of CDs where artists would include a hidden track at the end of their album – it follows five minutes of silence (officially titled “Known Better”), and rehashes the riff from the aforementioned “Honeyboy,” reimagining an organic idea into something left-field and ear catching.
The Seven People You Meet In Heaven is out now via 1120 Records (June 6th, 2026). Check out the embed of “Wrong Jazz” using the YouTube link below, or, find it on Spotify.
Categorised in: Album of the Week
This post was written by Nick Sessanna