Canadian indie rock outfit Mother Mother last visited UK shores in 2022, a stint that saw them play two nights at London’s Kentish Town Forum. And while the Ryan Guldemond-led troupe’s latest UK jaunt might well be in support of ninth LP Grief Chapter, their audience dynamic on these last few European tours may have skewed somewhat from pre-2020 tours, with expectations rife from their newfound Gen-Z fanbase for cuts from their 2008 sophomore LP O My Heart, following tracks like Hayloft finding a new audience for the group through use on social media platform TikTok.
Mother Mother @ Troxy
But it is with Grief Chapter opener Nobody Escapes the quintet make their stage appearance tonight, an ominous voiceover repeating “Sometimes I hate myself with such intensity, I have no choice but to bark back” before Ryan Guldemond’s distinctive, quirky voice echoes out, the showman bounding about the stage between keyboards manned by his sister Molly Guldemond to his right and Jasmin Parkin to his left.
Voices emanating from the crowd rise above the frontman’s own as the group dive straight into bop-along O My Heart tune Arms Tonight, Parkin handed vocal duties for a portion of the first of eight cuts from the record. “Sing with us!” the frontman demands, his audience more than happy to oblige.
But it is Mike Young’s bass rumblings that kick off Hayloft II that elevate the crowd to the next level, the crowd screaming along with the chant-along vocal. “My baby’s got a gun, I better run” they sing in unison.
“This next song is about living life how you want to live life” Guldemond screams as dreamy synths emanate, slow-drive The Matrix so reminiscent of The Pixies’ Where Is My Mind? that the group acknowledge the influence by throwing in an interlude of the 1988 hit.
Driving Problems from 2011’s Eureka has the crowd continuing to sing along to every word, the frontman continuing to stride about the stage at every opportunity, encouraging as many singalong moments as possible before the group dive straight into Oleander, Molly Guldemond’s equally distinctive voice rising above her brother’s.
“London! We’re going to play a new song, is that alright?!” the frontman asks to cheers, before latest single Explode! is aired, the sonically diverse new record shining through with heavy guitars, quirky vocals and sonic highlights from Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin creating a deliciously infectious mix. Dance And Cry tune Back To Life keeps the energy levels high, its fast-paced verses broken gorgeously by slower chrouses, Ali Siadat’s storming drums reverberating around the Art Deco-stylings of East London’s Troxy.
“It feels amazing in this house!” Guldemond screams at his audience as his band are already moving onto Bit By Bit from 2012 record The Sticks. “I’ll make a mistress of a little Wiccan thing” he sings alongside soaring guitar licks and clap-along breaks. Synth-laden O My Heart tune Body has the Quadra Island, B.C.-hailing frontman handing vocal duties over to his audience once more before a rousing multi-part guitar-solo that has us all in awe.
“People ask ‘what’s it like being in a band with your sibling’?” the frontman shares. “It’s a pain in the ass some of the time” he continues to chuckles from the crowd. “But it’s a big honour. What’s even more of an honour is being able to write songs for this voice” he says, looking across at Molly before introducing O My Heart cut Sleep Awake as the first song he wrote for his sister, the subdued tune closing out the first chapter of tonight’s show.
The five musicians on stage step closer to one another, Mike Young picking up a mini acoustic bass while Ali Siadat sits down behind a small drum set as they gear up for the acoustic medley section of tonight’s set.
Mother Mother @ Troxy
Touch Up cut Dirty Town kicks off the section in true hoedown style before quickly blending into Neighbor from the same record. The cheers rise as sophomore record tune Wisdom rings out, stopping abruptly with the open licks of Ghosting moving into another glorious singalong moment. Airings from sections of Little Pistol and It’s Alright round out the acoustic medley.
“This whole music industry, this whole thing of the arts would crumble if it weren’t for you, the fine people who support live music, who buy the ticket, who make the journey, who come and open their hearts and deliver this amazing energy” Guldemond gushes to his audience as his bandmates take up their original positions on stage, “it’s truly medicine for the soul”.
Offbeat Oh Ana has the Troxy singing back at the stage at top volume before the dial is turned up for O My Heart song Wrecking Ball. “We love singing with you” the 40-year-old frontman offers. “We’d rather sing with than sing to, so thank you” he rhymes, the quirky mandolin-led tune introduced by the frontman as an anthem to aggressively remove the obstacles that lay in the way of realising one’s passions and dreams.
Verbatim delivers indie-rock-rap at its quirkiest before the main set is wound-up with an outing of biggest tune Hayloft in its full glory, the Troxy crowd bouncing along from the off before Jasmin Parkin steps forward for the most sideways of interludes: a rendition of Lana Del Rey hit Video Games.
Following a brief stage departure Ryan Guldemond and co. return to the stage for a rendition of acoustic guitar-led new album title track Grief Chapter, the story behind it one many of us can relate to but one which Guldemond has crafted into a gorgeously textured tune, harmonies and mandolin abound, before the night is closed out with O My Heart tune Burning Pile. “This is farewell!” Guldemond declares as it kicks off.
Perhaps once relegated to the relative obscurity of touring indie bands evoking quirky Americana, Mother Mother have persevered and risen above the din, making a solid mark on the landscape and making us sit up and pay attention, not just to their latest and greatest, but an immense catalogue of incredibly crafted songs that carry tonight’s audience back into the cold February evening on a warm, fuzzy cloud of la-di-da-di-da-di-da-di-da.
Live review & photography of Mother Mother at Troxy on 29th February 2024 by Kalpesh Patel.
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