by lilith jaime
photo by emily bradshaw
Formed in 2005, the Canadian rock band Mother Mother has built a rich and evolving legacy in the music scene. Over the years, they’ve crafted a distinct sonic identity through an expansive discography that now spans more than ten albums. This June, the band made a compelling return with their latest release, Nostalgia. True to its title, the album dives deep into themes of memory, self-reflection, and emotional echoes from the past. It revisits the sounds and stylistic elements that once defined their early work, offering longtime fans a sense of familiarity while still pushing their musical boundaries in new and thoughtful directions.
We had the chance to catch up with lead singer and songwriter Ryan Guldemond to delve into the heart of Nostalgia. In our conversation, he opened up about the themes that shaped the album, the memories the band collectively revisited during the creative process, and the emotional resonance behind their newest work. Furthermore, the frontman also offered insight into his personal approach to songwriting, the evolving dynamics within the group, and how his relationship with the internet has influenced both his artistry and perspective as a musician.
How would you describe the special element within the group that has been fundamental to your 20 years of making music?
Ryan: “I think just how good of friends we are and how fluent we are in the language of each other. We know how to be good to each other, what the triggers are, what the buttons are. And so, with that knowledge, you can purposefully create a harmonious space with these people that you're doing this job with. However, it wasn't always that way. I think in intimate relationships, you learn the hard way how to get along. And that's very much the case in a band. So, after all of these years, we're just very good at knowing how to exist together.”
Do you think this reflects in your music?
Ryan: “Sure. I think that when we get together to record music, again, we know how to bring out the best in each other, and we know what battles not to pick, softly speaking.”
I saw that you waited a year to release a new record. Commonly, artists take around two years or so to put a new record out, but you took just one. Why is that?
Ryan: “Well, you know how people release deluxe versions? We were going to record three or four songs for the deluxe version of our last record, Grief Chapter. But then that sort of opened up this gateway of creativity, and more songs came into the picture. All of a sudden, it felt like we were doing something new, that we were creating a new body of work that didn't belong on the deluxe version of our last record. So, we just decided to forget about that and make a new record because it felt right.”
With Nostalgia, your new record, how would you say it fits into the band’s sonic evolution?
Ryan: “I think that true to the title, Nostalgia, this record is celebrating our roots. You can really hear that in some of the songs. Like, six of the songs are old and the other six are new. I don't know if you knew that, but we went back in time and looked in the attic, so to speak, for old songs that we've always loved but never released. And we chose six, and then we wrote six new songs.
And there's a real spirit of youthfulness, of playfulness, that I think is alive on this album. So, it's classic Mother Mother, but then it's us today, twenty years later. It can't help but also be a modern version. It's these two ends of the spectrum coming together to create a sound.”
Nostalgia recalls O My Heart, if you ask me. How was revisiting this old material? Did you change anything?
Ryan: “Sure. We took them and then sent them through the machine of criticism and speculation. Some of them came out really close to the way they were, and some of them came out pretty different.”
The song “Love to Death” is one of your fans’ favorites to revisit, considering there’s a demo of it on YouTube still circulating. Now that you have released the track properly, how was the critical response?
Ryan: “I mean, I knew a lot of people wouldn't like it because people get attached to the demo. So, we were prepared for that. But I think it's awesome. We really love the way it is the new version. And I bet you if there was never a demo, then people would love the new version. That's the way the human mind works. It's the first thing you fall in love with, you become so attached to. Some people, I think, struggled to accept the new ‘Love to Death.’ And then I think for a lot of others, that was the first time they heard the song, how they loved it. Maybe some of them even loved it to death, hopefully, but not literally.”
Now, the song “ON AND ON (Song for Jasmin)” also navigates a lot of memories and emotions. Can you walk us through it?
Ryan: “That song was written during a really emotional and deep time. Jasmin and I were good friends, best friends. We've been, friends for many years, but at the very beginning of our relationship, we were a couple. And so, there's lots of layers to our story. In 2020, her dad died unexpectedly. And I was really close with her dad as well as Jasmin. I was given the job of driving over to Jasmin's house on a Sunday morning and telling her that her dad died unexpectedly. So, that experience was very powerful. Just, you know, Jasmin is a very sweet and happy person. She opens the door with a big smile and a ‘come on in.’
And then delivering this news and watching someone you love that much metabolize that information in the moment, and the both of us start weeping together, and you go on this little journey of grief. It's very deepening to the friendship. It's very beautiful and raw. And so, in and around all of that energy during that time, I just picked up a guitar one day, feeling all of this love, sadness, and beauty and just wrote that song very quickly for Jasmin, and for her dad too in a way.”
That’s really sweet and considerate of you. Aside from that track, is there any song that you feel most connected to from the album?
Ryan: “I love ‘Nostalgia.’ I really relate to getting almost drunk on the past and romanticizing it and that sort of wistful longing for what was and for what never was, but you wished was, but now it's too late. All that energy, I get really into.”
On another note, is there a reason why you divide in part 1 and part 2 certain songs?
Ryan: “We've only ever done that once properly, which is ‘Hayloft II.’ You know, with our song ‘Finger,’ we flirted with the idea that it was a prequel to ‘Verbatim,’ just because people were saying, it sounded like Verbatim II. And so, we made a post saying it's the prequel, but it's not actually. But ‘Hayloft II’ is a very purposeful sequel.”
Let’s move on to a more visual approach. Your album covers are different between within each other. How do you know which artistic direction to take every time you're creating them?
Ryan: “I guess you try to find some inroad through the lyrics. Sometimes the music just has a certain vibe, either it wants to be dark or colorful. Just depending on how the music sounds. Molly, my sister in the band, she does all of the art. Her and I work really closely. She designs all the covers, and it's a whole big mountainous project. We talk a lot about how to tackle it and she really looks into the words and comes up with ideas born from the lyrics and says, ‘Hey Ryan, what do you think?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, that's cool.’ Finally, you arrive at a certain place, animal, image or something.”
I didn’t know Molly did the whole art thing. What is it like working with your sister in the music industry?
Ryan: “I think it's weird. It's especially weird because if you had asked us when we were kids or even two years before the band started, if we thought we’d ever be in a band together, we would have said no. That's preposterous. It never made sense that Molly and I would be in a band together. So that's weird and remains likes that.
We often just still look at each other and look at this life that we've created for ourselves and laugh in disbelief. Beyond that, I think it can be really challenging working with your family. There's just a lot of old stuff that is always right there on the surface of the dynamic. You know, business is hard, and the music business is too. And so, we've definitely had many challenges along the way, challenges that were made more challenging because we're siblings. But on the flip side, there's just this bond. There's this foundation of love and loyalty that you can't break. So, we know in our hearts, no matter how hard it gets, we'll never leave each other because we're family. Maybe that's what's kept us together so long too. That could be true.”
You definitely have a strong bond with her. That’s lovely to hear. Now, how’s your relationship with the internet as of right now? Regarding fan interactions and feedback in general.
Ryan: “Right now, it's good because I deleted all my apps. So, I'm on a diet because I think the Internet and social media is making everybody unhappy. That's my opinion. It's a necessary tool to interact with your audience and there is beauty. There is love and connection. There is creativity that is being shared and that is a good thing.
But the question is: ‘Is that nugget of good big enough to combat all of the bad that goes along with the Internet and social media because there's a lot of bad?’ I think about this a lot. I think about it for myself and young people. And right now, I just must not look at that shit. I must delete my apps and focus on my heart, my creativity and living actual real life. So that's where I'm at. I know I can't do that forever because I have this job, and I have to connect with the fan base. And I love doing that because I love them. It's the way that we do it in these modern times.”
photo by emily bradshaw
I agree with you right there. That leads me to ask you if you have ever done any kind of activism through your songs regarding these topics or any topic at all?
Ryan: “Not really. We don't write music in that way. I find whenever I sit down to try and write a song about something. Like, I'm going to write about world peace. Doesn't work. I'm going to write about human rights in whatever category. Doesn't work. Creativity for me doesn't work that way. It's like you can't think. You have to go to some other deeper abstract feeling place and get out of the way and let words and sounds come through. That's my process as a songwriter. And, you know, I've tried to write about something. It just never turns into a good song. At the end of the day, what you want are good songs.”
A really interesting songwriting process. It stays true to yourself. Talking about songs, when you are immersing in the making of them, do you consider how they are going to sound live?
Ryan: “I think that sometimes you write songs that are easy to play live or good to play live, but that's not why you should write a song. You're writing a song because you're trying to connect to the universe or to crack open the energy of love through song and creativity. How you feel about the world or how easy you want the song to be performed on stage or any of these earthly matters doesn't help being in creative flow state. So, no. I try not to care about whether it's going to be easy or hard on stage because the song doesn't care. If the song was a person, it would be so uninterested in the songwriter's opinions or their experience playing it live.”
I mostly ask the question of the impact of performing live and many artists agree with it. However, I find it unusual but captivating that you have a divergent opinion. To finish our interview, a fun question! If you could share the stage with anyone, dead or alive, who would you share it with?
Ryan: “Gosh. That is a tough question. I mean, alive, The Pixies. They're the biggest influence. There's still a chance, so I feel like if I choose them as my answer, then I could maybe help manifest it. Because it's possible as they're still going. That is my favorite band in the world, and I think that Mother Mother wouldn't sound like it does if they didn't exist.”