Mother Mother New Album

06/19/08 4:30pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

"Mother Mother" was a 1996 hit by Tracy Bonham, but it's also the name of a Vancouver band who will release their sophomore album, O My Heart, through Last Gang Records on Sept. 16.

Mother Mother frontman Ryan Guldemond co-produced the follow-up to last year's Touch Up with Howard Redekopp (The New Pornographers, Tegan And Sara). O My Heart tells the story of "Penelope The Bald Pie Fish," who literally becomes a fish out of water and travels across the land, which helps her face and deal with her insecurities. Guldemond wrote in a June 1 MySpace blog entry that there are many maternal parallels on O My Heart. For starters, it will be released on his mother's birthday.

"This is good, because once upon a time, when we were just 'Mother', an interviewer asked, 'Why the name?', and I, tired of the frequently asked question, lied and said it was because we didn't like our mothers and wanted to make one of our own with which we could jive," he wrote. "This went to print and my mom got upset. Understandable.

"I see this release date as a serendipitous atonement for that sin and any other I've committed. Feels good to be guilt free."

Guldemond (vocals, guitar), his sister Molly (vocals, synthesizer), Debra-Jean Creelman (vocals), Jeremy Page (bass, horns) and Ali Siadat (drums) started playing together in 2005.

Mother Mother have a number of Canadian dates lined up in advance of O My Heart's release. Here's where you can see them:

June 19 Cumberland, BC @ The Waverley
June 20 Tofino, BC @ Tofino Legion
June 21 Victoria, BC @ Sugar
June 22 Vancouver, BC @ Gastown Maple Tree Square Stage
June 25 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat
June 26 Calgary, AB @ Central United Church w/Okkervil River, Raccoon and The Consonant C
June 27 Saskatoon, SK @ Lydia's Pub
June 28 Winnipeg, MB @ Old Market Square
June 30 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
July 1 Edmonton, AB @ The Pawn Shop

Here are the tracks on O My Heart:

"O My Heart"
"Burning Pile"
"Body Of Years"
"Try To Change"
"Wisdom"
"Body"
"Ghosting"
"Hayloft"
"Wrecking Ball"
"Arms Tonite"
"Miles"
"Sleep Awake"