Mothertongue is a studio album by American composer and musician Nico Muhly. It was released on May 26, 2008, through Bedroom Community. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.
Mothertongue is Nico Muhly's second solo studio album, following Speaks Volumes (2006). It contains three suites: "Mothertongue", "Wonders", and "The Only Tune". It features contributions from vocalists Abigail Fischer (on "Mothertongue"), Helgi Hrafn Jónsson (on "Wonders"), and Sam Amidon (on "The Only Tune").
The album was originally released on May 26, 2008, through Valgeir Sigurðsson's Icelandic record label Bedroom Community. In the United States, it was released on July 22, 2008, through Brassland Records.
Dan Raper of PopMatters stated, "The three suites on the album do have a fidgety motion, but there are also moments of spare beauty." He added, "But these works aren't large-scale in the way that Philip Glass' work is, and each idea is dealt with in a mode that shares more with indie pop than classical music." Alexandra Savvides of Cyclic Defrost stated, "Mothertongue is an incredibly ambitious work, and its beauty is able to shine through from Muhly's meticulous layering of complex voices, instrumentation and context." Michael Patrick Brady of The Phoenix commented that "Muhly is a perfect ambassador for a new generation of classical composers â his love of music knows no bounds or limitations." Conrad Amenta of Cokemachineglow stated, "Mothertongue oscillates between the comfort/terror of singularities and excitement/terror of potentialities, but the possibilities this duality affords for Muhly's future work are frankly exhilarating."
Credits adapted from liner notes.