Mother Mother—Eccentric, Self-Expressive, Affirming Indie Rock

"Wisdom, wisdom—where can I get some?"

Mother Mother—A Brief History

Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band based in Quadra Island, British Columbia. The band, formed in 2005, gained new popularity on TikTok in 2020 for their album O My Heart (2008).

According to the band's wikipedia page, Mother Mother began when Ryan Guldemond–frontman, vocalist, and guitarist–was at music school and wanted to start a band based on vocal-driven pop songs. He recruited his sister, Molly Guldemond, as a vocalist and keyboardist. He also recruited former members: Debra-Jean Creelman (vocalist, keyboardist), Kenton Loewen (percussion), and Jeremy Page (bass).

The band was originally named Mother, but changed to Mother Mother when they signed with Last Gang Records. Their previously independently-released album, Mother Mother (2005), was renamed to Touch Up (2007) and included two new songs.

Currently, the band consists of Ryan and Molly as well as Jasmin Parkin (vocalist, keyboardist), Ali Siadat (percussion), and Mike Young (bass).

Since the release of their first album in 2007 under their new name, Mother Mother has released eight studio albums:

Mother Mother, 2022

• Touch Up (2007)
• O My Heart (2008)
• Eureka (2011)
• The Sticks (2012)
• Very Good Bad Thing (2015)
• No Culture (2017)
• Dance and Cry (2018)
• Inside (2021)

Frontman Feature—Ryan Guldemond

Ryan Guldemond is a Canadian vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist.

In 2022, Guldemond began his solo project GLDMTH (pronounced “gold mouth”). It focuses on acoustic songs with lyrics portraying beauty in everyday life.

Extra Silly Tidbits

• Much of Mother Mother’s popularity is due to its TikTok correlation with cosplay, gothic fashion, and the significance of their music within the nonbinary community.

Album Ranking*

#8: Very Good Bad Thing (2015)

The songs on this album aren’t very memorable. However, Monkey Tree is one of my favorite songs in Mother Mother’s discography.

#7: No Culture (2017)

This album also doesn’t have very memorable songs, but the music is much better produced. Baby Boy hits different.

#6: Dance and Cry (2018)

This album is hit or miss for me. I find the music to be better composed and overall catchier, but I don’t enjoy the entire album. Back to Life and Its Alright are the stars of the album for me.

#5: The Sticks (2012)

This album gets better overall. The instrumental aspect of each song hits so hard. I find this album to be the beginning of the mediocre albums, but it is the best of them. I enjoy Bit By Bit, Little Pistol, and Infinitesimal.

#4: Inside (2021)

As the newest album, I haven’t spent a lot of time with these songs. However, some of these songs just hit harder than the lower-ranked albums. This album ties the band to their roots, in a way. I find Sick of the Silence, Forgotten Souls, and The Knack to hit the hardest on this album.

#3: Touch Up (2007)

With this album being the band’s first, I think there is a lot of value in the vibe it set. Overall, these songs are quite catchy and well-written. My favorites are Polynesia, Oh Ana, and Verbatim. Verbatim is actually the first song I encountered from the band on TikTok.

#2: Eureka (2011)

Eureka is so good. Even though I don’t know many of the songs well enough, I find that the music is so well written and is so pleasant to listen to. The songs just hit so hard. My favorite songs are Oleander, Problems, and The Stand.

#1: O My Heart (2008)

The famed album. Most of the songs on this album were popular on TikTok in 2020–specifically on the side of TikTok I was on. I know these songs the best, and I can safely say that no song on this album is a miss. These songs are so well-written both musically and lyrically, and are relatable. The stars of this album are Hayloft, Burning Pile, and Arms Tonite. Body is my favorite Mother Mother song overall.

*Disclaimer: it’s been a while since I was in my Mother Mother phase. I’m mostly pulling from memory while I listen to the songs.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Jeb’s Jukebox! Be sure to give Mother Mother a listen!