‘We’re on TikTok? What’s TikTok?’ The forgotten bands going supersonic thanks to gen Z

Ageing acts that can't even get radio time are going viral - and finding themselves playing arenas or even soundtracking Ukrainian resistance. But how do you follow up a hit no one can explain?

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's 2008 album O My Heart were suddenly spiking on streaming platforms. Day after day, the numbers continued to rise. Something strange was happening. We were able to track it to TikTok and it was like, Well, what's TikTok?'" Guldemond recalls. There was this whole alternate universe of people enjoying Mother Mother songs written long ago."

In 2008, Guldemond says, Mother Mother couldn't get a song on the radio or build a significant international following: There's a thing called the Canadian curse where you can do well in Canada but you can't break out." They grew used to operating at a modest level. Now, thanks to TikTok, they have 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify - almost double that of their more lauded Canadian contemporaries Arcade Fire. Hayloft, an oddball tale of rural violence, has surpassed 400m streams - more than any song by, say, REM (bar Losing My Religion). In February, five years after they played to 350 people at London's 100 Club, Mother Mother will headline the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena.