At the time of
Sorpresa Familia's release,
Mourn were in their early twenties but had weathered more music industry issues than acts many years older. Their Spanish former label,
Sones, prevented them from touring or promoting their second album, 2016's
Ha, Ha, He., to the fullest --
Mourn didn't play any North American shows until 2017, when they settled their issues with
Sones. As frustrating as their season in label hell was,
Sorpresa Familia proves that they turned an obstacle into inspiration.
Mourn have always thrown everything they had into their songs and railed against hypocrisy, prejudice, and complacency, but they've never sounded so focused -- or furious.
Jazz Rodriguez Bueno's piercing voice was made to question authority; when she sings "Who are you to say what I am?" on "Strange Ones," she sounds like she speaks for outsiders everywhere. Coupled with the band's jagged attack,
Sorpresa Familia channels the rawness of a diary, and boasts some of the most incisive rants against the music industry since
In Utero or
Spoon's "The Agony of Laffitte." "Fun at the Geysers" is deceptively scathing; while its harmonies are joyous, its tale of how the bandmembers were left in a van in Reykjavik while their chaperone spent the day sightseeing is anything but. On "Doing it Right,"
Mourn transform e-mails from their former label into paranoid outbursts ("Don't be scared/These numbers are normal") that could apply to the state of the world in the late 2010s as well as their own situation. And while
Sorpresa Familia's ferocity is well-deserved, the album also builds on
Ha, Ha, He.'s sophistication. On "Thank You for Coming Over" and the
Blonde Redhead-esque "Candle Man," the group explores dreamy new territory, and "Epilogue"'s radiant harmonies sound like the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sorpresa Familia is a portrait of a band that's grown stronger musically and personally in the face of hardship, and the wisdom and freedom
Mourn display on these songs is the best revenge they could get. ~ Heather Phares
