Ageing acts that can\u2019t even get radio time are going viral \u2013 and finding themselves playing arenas or even soundtracking Ukrainian resistance. But how do you follow up a hit no one can explain?<\/p>\n
Like most musicians, Ryan Guldemond of the Canadian indie band Mother Mother had an extremely quiet 2020. Towards the end of the year, however, the frontman noticed that songs from the band\u2019s 2008 album O My Heart were suddenly spiking on streaming platforms. Day after day, the numbers continued to rise. Something strange was happening. \u201cWe were able to track it to TikTok and it was like, \u2018Well, what\u2019s TikTok?\u2019\u201d Guldemond recalls. \u201cThere was this whole alternate universe of people enjoying Mother Mother songs written long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2008, Guldemond says, Mother Mother couldn\u2019t get a song on the radio or build a significant international following: \u201cThere\u2019s a thing called the Canadian curse where you can do well in Canada but you can\u2019t break out.\u201d They grew used to operating at a modest level. Now, thanks to TikTok, they have 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify \u2013 almost double that of their more lauded Canadian contemporaries Arcade Fire. Hayloft<\/a>, an oddball tale of rural violence, has surpassed 400m streams \u2014 more than any song by, say, REM (bar Losing My Religion). In February, five years after they played to 350 people at London\u2019s 100 Club, Mother Mother will headline the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/122bb0233624be6cb332ca21d4a22cacf59a0f09\/0_0_5000_3000\/master\/5000.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=22ab9ddd22807f24f377a0a5ebad2cd5\" "\\"\u2018We\u2019re")
Ageing acts that can\u2019t even get radio time are going viral \u2013 and finding themselves playing arenas or even soundtracking Ukrainian resistance. But how do you follow up a hit no one can explain?