Terrible Sons is the moniker for songwriters and musicians Lauren and Matt Barus, who live with their two children in a small intentional community in Ōtautahi. Their music reflects their local neighborhood while exploring the more interior feelings we all share: exhaustion, heartbreak, loneliness. Previously, Lauren released albums as LA Mitchell and currently is still a part of the Fly My Pretties family. Matt founded pop/rock band Dukes who had a top ten hit with Vampires and of note toured with and wrote songs for Blondie.
Terrible Sons emerged after the couple had children and sought a less obtrusive way of making music. They built a small, home studio and invited others in. Taking their cues from folk tradition, the duo blend their two voices, backed with spare piano and acoustic guitar. An early single Tears Don’t Fall gained millions of listens on Spotify and the duo were signed remotely to Vancouver’s Nettwerk Records. Terrible Sons, working alongside producers Ben Edwards and Tom Healey, and their go-to rhythm section of Jo McCullum and Jo Barus, have released four EP’s to date and are now celebrating the relase of thier first full length album “The Raft Is Not The Shore”
Terrible Sons perform songs that are deeply humane and replete with compassion and solidarity. This was one of the year's exquisite gigs.
-Robin Kernes- 13th floor
“Truly ethereal. Everything is melded together so well that it’s dreamlike, the listener is suspended in time. hhhhappy.com
“...done well, as in Terrible Sons’ newest EP, we come away not just entertained but with a deeper understanding of our own worlds.”
Atwood Magazine
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Discography
Half Awake, Half Asleep - 2018 ep
With Feathers - 2019 ep
Mass - 2021 ep
Alabaster Mountain - 2021 ep
