It was a welcomed reinvigoration ahead of the release of Inside. It was revealed that some of their formative songs, including “Hayloft,” “Arms Tonite” and “Wrecking Ball,” had become recent Tik-Tok hits, connecting them with an entirely new generation of fans. In the summer of 2020, the band began to notice that fans were flocking to streaming services in unprecedented numbers to listen to their older catalogue. In many ways, Insideexpands on Mother Mother’s prolific career, and connects them back to the origins of their success. “It’s about the awe-struck mystery of being alive, and the modality of self-love through which to live life fully.”
“It really felt like it came from elsewhere, a celestial kind of place,” Ryan notes.
He took the initial refrain from a voice memo sent to him by a friend, and then asked his sister Molly, who sings the meditative, ethereal song, to expand on the emotional theme of the track. “Pure Love” is a standout moment on the album and marks the first time in Mother Mother’s career that Ryan hasn’t penned a single lyric in a song. That lyric is definitely a thematic pillar on Inside, and has become a bit of a mantra for myself during this time.”
A different kind of soil turns over when we’re still and just simply being. “But the soul is always evolving and expanding, just with the passing of time. When we’re stripped of these tangible markers, it can feel like the growth of our life stops completely.” Ryan explains. “Weep” pairs folk and industrial influence as Ryan inquires, “There is a place where it hurts the most, but will I go there and weep into my birth?” “The Knack,” the album’s only song about romantic love, begs for a change to the games we play in relationships, while “Forgotten Souls” redefines success, centering on its ever-relevant lyric “The garden grows in frozen rain.” “We often link success to external motion: climbing corporate ladders, seizing opportunities, or for a band, going on tour. High-energy track “Sick of the Silence” considers the internal cacophony that can come after the world goes quiet, bringing chaos into the mind and urging distraction. “I Got Love,” a propulsive, thumping cut, was Ryan’s entry point to Inside, emerging from what he calls “sheer, unbridled, joyful energy” and giving the songwriter the confidence he needed to continue on the album’s journey. The layers of instrumentation and rich vocal harmonies and interplay between Ryan, Molly and Jasmin are often as introspective as the lyrics, as Mother Mother ventures deep within to heal from the inherent suffering that is part and parcel of the human condition. The goal was to infuse the songs with a living, breathing energy, and the focus was more on how the album should feel, rather than how it should sound. Redekopp worked with the band on their first two albums, including the band’s 2007 debut Touch Up and 2008 fan-favorite O My Heart. But since that wasn’t an option, I set about a different kind of travel, one more inward and personal, exploring different types of therapies, meditation, and journaling as a means to unearth songs from a deeper, interior place.”Īfter several months of writing and recording demos in his home, Ryan and the band- which includes singer/keyboardist Jasmin Parkin, drummer Ali Siadat, bassist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Young, and Ryan’s sister, singer/keyboardist Molly Guldemond (who also handles all of the band’s design and creative direction)- joined producer Howard Redekopp in Afterlife studios’ expansive live room in Vancouver last June. I love that process – it’s almost like you’re in collaboration with the world. “Usually, I like to venture out and find guidance from an external, interactive narrative - travelling, people, serendipities etc. “The world stopped, and all of sudden I had a lot more alone-time on my hands, which isn’t necessarily conducive to songwriting,” Ryan says. Written during the first wave of the COVID- 19 pandemic, Inside sees band frontman and songwriter Ryan Guldemond seeking inspiration through self-discovery and reflection.
The old adage “It starts from within” takes on a whole new meaning during a global pandemic, a poignant theme that threads through Vancouver indie rock band Mother Mother’s eighth full-length album Inside. When the world prevents you from going outside there’s no other choice but to lean inward.
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