A formative trip through the Buckeye State inspired California rock outfit Momma‘s earworm new single, “Ohio All the Time,” which was released today (Oct. 22) in tandem with a Zack Shorrosh-directed video. The group played it and two other new songs, “Rodeo” and “Fever (I Want You),” last night during a party for Spotify’s rock-driven MARROW playlist at New York club Baby’s All Right.
Although they politely declined to reveal major details about the follow-up to their acclaimed, Pavement- and Pinback-tinged 2022 Polyvinyl album Household Name, band members spoke with SPIN backstage after their set about how their creative approach has evolved over the past two years.
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“When we started writing new music, we were very much like, how do we step into a new era but also like feel like the same band?,” vocalist/guitarist Allegra Weingarten says. “It took us a really long time to get there. We wrote 20 songs in total and 10 songs before it even felt like we were getting on the right track. It feels like a more realized Momma. It’s a little more simplified, I think. If one song is the same chords all the way throughout, it’s still okay, as long as it sounds good and it’s catchy.”
“Ohio All the Time” touches on summer tour marked by a show in Columbus and an off-day visit to the family resort Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, where Momma’s members swam in the pool and rode waterslides, but did not purchase a branded stuffed animal at the property’s subterranean Build-a-Bear Workshop. The video extends that theme of letting loose, even as the song itself raises rhetorical questions (“I’m running to you, right?” / “should we call it a night?”) that defy easy answers.
“We were just trying to have a good time with it and make something that felt good,” adds vocalist/guitarist Etta Friedman. “A lot of the lyrics are very intentional and mean a lot to us. That’s what carries the songs.”
Having just shared the stage with beloved underground rock groups such as the Jesus Lizard and the Get Up Kids at the Best Friends Forever festival in Las Vegas, Momma will soon head to the U.K. for a short tour opening for beabadoobee, who they’ve long admired. The group, which is rounded out by drummer Preston Fulks and bassist/producer Aron Kobayashi Ritch, will also play a sold-out headlining show at London’s George Tavern on Nov. 22.
“We were just talking about the fact that we’ve had the chance to have conversations with people that we idolize in a very normal setting, and it’s really surreal,” Weingarten says, giving particular shout-outs to Weezer for having Momma support on the latter’s 2023 tour of amphitheaters. “What’s so cool about these legacy bands is that they really paid their dues, so they know that we’re also trying really hard to make our way,” Friedman says. “They’re all very kind and empathetic about it. They understand exactly what’s up. It’s really awesome when a band can come up to an opener and be like, hey, just wanted to say thanks. Even if they don’t see a set, it means so much. It’s so valuable for artists.”
Asked what music they’ve had on repeat in recent months, their answers range from the shoegaze-leaning Bedridden and the quirky, emotive Wishy to the homespun, low-key sounds of Hovvdy and Deadharrie. “I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it’s the best background music ever,” says Weingarten of the latter, who has released four albums in the past two years. “I have a ritual for if it’s a rainy day or when I wake up hungover — I take the hottest shower in the world and play Deadharrie. I’m obsessed with him.”
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