Albums : Mother Mother : The Sticks

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Listen To Mother Mother : The Sticks

Who is Mother Mother?
Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band originally from Quadra Island, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mother Mother consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond on vocals and keyboard, Jasmin Parkin on keyboard and vocals, Ali Siadat on drums, and Jeremy Page on bass.

In 2005, they independently released their self-titled debut album under the band name Mother. They later changed their name to Mother Mother, and re-released the album on Last Gang Records in 2007. Retitled Touch Up, the reissue also featured several new songs.

Their second album, O My Heart, was released on September 16, 2008, their third album, Eureka, was released on March 15, 2011 and the band's fourth album, The Sticks, was released on September 18, 2012.

The band began in Vancouver in January 2005, when guitarist and vocalist Ryan Guldemond was at music school and wanted to start a band based around vocal-driven pop songs. He recruited his sister Molly along with a friend from college, Debra-Jean Creelman, to accompany his own vocals for the songs he had written, and the trio played as an acoustic act before adding drummer Kenton Loewen and bassist Jeremy Page.

The five members started off playing under the name Mother, and in the fall of 2005, they independently released a self-titled album. This debut album was recorded with Howard Redekopp, who had also worked with The New Pornographers and Tegan and Sara. When the Vancouver Province rated Mother as one of the top five BC bands to watch for in 2007, they began to receive acclaim for their debut album. Shortly thereafter, Mother landed a nationally broadcasted concert opening when? for K'naan and The Wailin' Jennys. In the summer of 2006, they opened for the Australian band, The Cat Empire, at the sold-out Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Later that year, they made their debut in central Canada at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 29 as well as in Toronto on July 1, Canada Day, at the Harbourfront Centre.

In October 2006, after playing a set at the Pop Montreal festival, Mother met with Last Gang Records and later signed a four-album contract. At that point the label encouraged the band to change their name to avoid legal issues, so rather than changing it completely they decided to simply rename themselves Mother Mother. On February 20, 2007, the band re-released its debut album under the new name, renaming the album Touch Up and including two new songs, as well as artwork and overdubs different from the original.
                             
Molly Guldemond (left) and Jasmin Parkin (right) perform for British Columbia Day at Deer Lake Park on August 3, 2009.

The band released their second album, O My Heart, in 2008. Later that year, on December 3, it was announced that Debra-Jean Creelman had left Mother Mother; on January 26, 2009, the band announced the addition of a new singer/keyboardist, Jasmin Parkin.

Mother Mother's third album, Eureka, was released on March 15, 2011. The album's lead single, "The Stand", entered the Canada Singles Top 100 chart in May 2011 and peaked during that week at position 76. The album prompted a reviewer at the Toronto Star to describe the band as "evolving into orchestral harmonies and hip hop-influenced power ballads, as if Adam Lambert had joined The Dirty Projectors".

On January 9, 2012 Kraft Foods launched a series of television commercials featuring the song "Bright Idea".

Mother Mother's fourth album, The Sticks, was released on September 18, 2012. It contains 14 tracks and was co-produced by the band frontman Ryan Guldemond and producer Ben Kaplan. The first single, "Let's Fall in Love", was released on July 17. (Read More)

The Sticks Review 
The five-piece Vancouver-based alternative noise pop band known as Mother Mother has returned with their fourth record. Over the years their reputation has continually grown with each successive release. With the release of The Sticks, that reputation looks to grow even bigger.

Starting off with the intro “Omen,” the whole album takes a dark turn while managing to stay menacing and creepy yet hopeful at the same time. The title track is very interesting, almost dirge like that sounds tailor made for rock radio or appearing on some hip blog. The band is very aware of what they can do, and while they’re willing to experiment and try some different stuff, they mostly stick to what they know.

One thing that definitely stands out on this record is the vocal interplay between guitarist and leader/producer/main songwriter Ryan Guldemond, synth player Molly Guldemond and keyboardist Jasmin Parker. The way the three weave and interconnect is an interesting thing indeed, sometimes sounding Silversun Pickups but with a higher vocal register. The first single, “Let’s Fall in Love” is a perfect example of this.

The band encounters a few bumps in the road and they’re extremely noticeable, particularly “Businessman,” which never seems to go anywhere and is probably the least interesting track here. Fortunately, there are enough stronger moments to make up for the weaker ones. Immediately following “Businessman” is “Dread in My Heart” which comes across like a little folk detour through the village of noise and harmonies. It works to counterbalance the rest of the material and is pleasant on the ears.

“Infinitesimal” is also a bit strange, but continually picks up steam. Further on, the album becomes more extreme: “Happy,” while being a good song is another dirge-like track that sounds just a bit out of place yet it’s part of the crowd, given the way popular and even indie music has been going lately, the stranger something is the more it seems to work. So if Mother Mother is able to keep up with the changing tides and their ever evolving musical personality, then we should hear them around for quite a while.

“Bit by Bit” is without a doubt the best track on the record. It contains fantastic vocals and a good beat that sounds like mid ‘90s industrial thrown into a blender with smiley pop from the sixties; that’s another good thing about this band; they seemingly love wearing their influences on their sleeves. On the other end of the spectrum, “Latter Days” sounds like a rock song that would be great on indie radio. For me, it’s rare to hear a lot of newer bands with so many songs that seem so radio friendly.

“Little Pistol” is one of the more intriguing tracks and better tracks; very slow, full of strings and cellos, and just a little on the eerie side. “Love it Dissipates” is probably the second strongest track on the record as an acoustic number with weird and eerie sounds. The band definitely knows its way around strange and creepy, but they do it so well you almost forget it’s strange.

“Waiting for the End of the World” is epic and one of the strongest tracks on the album. The shifting of the sound and the fierceness of the vocals make it one song to listen to repeatedly. Unfortunately, the closing track, “To the Wild” is the weakest link and would’ve worked better somewhere towards the middle of the record or as a b-side. In the end, the band was able to bring some new things to the table and made some good songs.


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Sources : Mother Mother Photo | Listen To The Sticks  | Mother Mother Biography | The Sicks Review

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