On the heels of Canada Day, and with the current state of the world, I thought that this video would be a perfect fit to share on The Indy Review. Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and I fell into them hard in 2019. My fandom peaked in the Spring of 2019, when I found myself lucky enough to have been in London the night that they were playing the 100 Club, and was treated to a truly ethereal experience.
Mother Mother has been around since 2005, and has released a total of seven full-length albums so far. Their most recent album, Dance and Cry, is a gem from start to finish, and could really be the perfect soundtrack for the world’s current affairs. Focusing heavily on mental health, depression, and finding joy in spite of it, the album hits the nail on the head in so many ways. Writer/reviewer Scott A. Gray really sums it up the best by saying:
“[Ryan] Guldemond has never shied away from talking about his own struggles with depression in Mother Mother‘s music but it’s often been easy to overlook, due to the jubilant nature of the music and his acerbic wit. He lays that dichotomy bare on Dance and Cry, plainly explaining the connection between feelings of existential despair and loneliness and the need to create joyous acts in counterbalance.”
“It’s Alright” focuses on self forgiveness and healing. Every human on this Earth has been known to say things or take actions that they later regret. It’s important to not let the guilt of those words and actions consume us, but instead be able to forgive ourselves and move forward and grow from those times. That is what this song is about. The song itself beautifully captures this feeling as Ryan Guldemond sings about the struggles of mental health and the angelic voices of Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin then sweep in during the chorus to remind him that it’s ok to struggle – he’s just human. By the end of the song he’s singing along with them, in acceptance of what it is to be human and that it’s alright… it’s ok to mess up from time to time.
The video not only captures the band singing the song, but also features many faces of people from multiple walks of life – all sharing in this very human experience. After checking out the music video above, I highly recommend giving the full album a listen below on Spotify: