Mother Mother

Canada's Mother Mother play harmonized indie pop/rock with an alternative edge, biting wit, and a jazzy sense of sophistication. The quintet rode a series of indie successes to a Top Ten chart placement with their acclaimed 2011 album EUREKA. Moving to major-label status, the band's increasingly bold sound paralleled their rising success on albums like 2014's Very Good Bad Thing, which reached Canada's Top Five. Their spirited eighth studio album, Inside, arrived in 2021 with the Top Two Canadian single "I Got Love." They also applied their anthemic alt-pop sensibility to the 2022 holiday single "Cry Christmas," before returning with the kinetic, '70s-style rocker "Normalize," off 2024's Grief Chapter. Tenth album Nostalgia arrived in 2025.Hailing from Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada, Ryan Guldemond had been writing songs while studying jazz guitar at college in Vancouver. Feeling the tunes needed harmonies, he asked his sister Molly Guldemond to join him. She in turn invited her friend Debra-Jean Creelman to add her voice to the mix, and the group's three-part harmonies were born. Initially working under the name Mother, they released an independently produced album with bassist Jeremy Page and drummer Kenton Loewen aboard as the group's rhythm section. Although the album was slow to take off commercially, it earned enthusiastic reviews, and helped the band score several high-profile gigs, including the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and the Pop Montreal Festival, as well as spots opening for the Wailin' Jennys, the Dears, and the Cat Empire. The group's solid live shows and positive press caught the attention of Canadian label Last Gang Records, who signed the band. Looking to further distinguish themselves and avoid copyright issues, they renamed themselves Mother Mother. In February 2007, they released a remixed and expanded version of their debut album under the title Touch Up. It fared much better commercially the second time around, generating yet another batch of enthusiastic reviews. Following the album's release, the band underwent some lineup changes with Ali Siadat replacing Loewen on drums. She made her debut on the group's sophomore album, O My Heart, which arrived in September 2008 and spawned the singles "O My Heart," "Body of Years," and "Hayloft." Later that year, Creelman left, with Jasmin Parkin joining on keyboards soon after. With 2011's EUREKA, Mother Mother broke through commercially, hitting the Billboard Canadian Album Top Ten and yielding the hit single "The Stand." They even landed a series of television commercials for a major food brand with their single "Bright Idea." The band's conceptual fourth album, 2012's The Sticks, also fared well, reaching number 11 on the Canadian charts. Their growing success led to a deal with Universal Music Canada, and the heavier, technology-themed synth rock sound of 2014's Very Good Bad Thing hit number four in Canada and earned the band a nomination for Group of the Year at the 2015 Juno Awards. A U.S. release followed that spring on Def Jam. In November 2016, Mother Mother issued the single "The Drugs," one of several tracks on their sixth album, No Culture, that referenced Ryan Guldemond's newfound sobriety. Released a few months later, it was another chart success, and the band supported it with a lengthy national tour. Their sixth LP, the emotional Dance and Cry, followed in late 2018. After signing with Warner Records, Mother Mother released their energetic debut for the label, Inside, in mid-2021. It was produced by Howard Redekopp, who had produced the band's first two albums. A deluxe version of Inside, containing seven new songs, appeared in 2022. Two standalone tracks followed, including 2022's holiday-themed "Cry Christmas" and 2023's Guldemond and Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen co-produced "Normalize." The latter song was the first single released off the group's ninth studio album. More singles followed, including "To My Heart," "The Matrix," and "Nobody Escapes," all leading to the full-length Grief Chapter, which arrived in February 2024. Mother EP, containing tracks from the band's 2005 debut which hadn't been available on streaming services, was issued in September, and DEMMOS, containing demos from throughout the band's career, appeared in November. Nostalgia, celebrating the band's 20th anniversary, arrived in 2025.
© Mark Deming & Marcy Donelson /TiVo

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