At Phoenix’s Crescent Ballroom on May 6, Momma proved they’re reshaping indie-sleeze with grit, chemistry, and a dose of sharp guitar swagger. The Brooklyn-based duo, Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman, brought their own brand of unpolished charm to the stage, turning the cozy venue into a nostalgia-tinged dreamscape for anyone who ever burned a mix CD in the early 2000s.
They kicked off their set with “I Want You (Fever),” a standout from their latest album Welcome to My Blue Sky, setting the room ablaze with fuzzed-out guitars and sugary hooks. The track captures everything that makes Momma compelling: a magnetic push-pull between vulnerability and cool detachment, wrapped in melodies that linger long after the last note.
Throughout the night, Momma leaned into their sonic range. “New Friend” flirted with a dusty, alt-country twang, while “Bottle Blonde” bounced with an infectious, pop-adjacent rhythm that felt tailor-made for dancing in a cluttered bedroom. Their sound feels both referential and refreshing.
Lyrically, Welcome to My Blue Sky is a scrapbook of emotional snapshots—tales of heartbreak, self-reflection, and the messy in-betweens. But the real magic of Momma lies in their ability to make heavy feelings feel light, dressing sadness in shimmering riffs and dreamy harmonies that hit like a sonic gut punch.
Before closing the night, the band paid homage to their contemporaries with a cover of Narrow Head’s “Sunday.” Stripped of its original post-grunge intensity, Momma’s version was slower, more hypnotic, soaked in their signature haze. It was a thoughtful sendoff, with the perfect combination of moody, melodic, and surprisingly intimate.
In a scene often dominated by overproduced polish or irony-laden detachment, Momma delivers something rare: honesty with edge. Their Crescent Ballroom show wasn’t just a performance, it was a reminder that indie rock, when done right, still has plenty of soul to burn.
