The indie rock band Mother Mother just released a new album with the lead single being the sequel to a fan favorite and viral TikTok song, “Hayloft.” “Hayloft 2” is much more gritty and has more rock undertones than the original song did, so let’s take a deep dive into it.
The first “Hayloft” was released in 2008, a whopping 14 years ago, so why a sequel now? It’s been so long you would think fans had dropped off the song and only listened to it casually. Well, Mother Mother quickly gained popularity with their 2008 album O My Heart in the fall of 2020, as many of the songs were used in TikTok trends and as a background for videos that saw the sound trending and wanted more reach. With this boom in popularity, the band realized that a fan favorite was the song “Hayloft.” There were multiple trends in early 2021 and even late 2020 based on this song that grew the band’s popularity. Other songs by Mother Mother that have had this huge jump in popularity are “Verbatim,” “Oh Ana,” “Body” and “Burning Pile.” There weren’t necessarily trends for these songs, but that first album from 2008 just blew up, and all of the songs on the album became an anthem for anyone on that indie/alternative side of TikTok.
The song’s story follows a young couple caught in the act by the girl’s father, so the father gets a gun and shoots the boyfriend, who unfortunately dies. When the song grew in popularity and Mother Mother saw how much Gen Z loved its story and rhythm, they decided to explore what more of the story there was, if there was any at all. The sequel follows the aftermath of this. The girl falls into a depression and gets involved in “drugs and punks,” as the song says. The father has lived an unbothered, totally free life following the event with little to no remorse. It’s a miracle he escaped the murder charges, and it’s possible that burning down the hayloft is how he got away with it. The girl craves revenge on her father and plans to shoot him. The father returns to the rubble of the burned-down hayloft and sees his daughter there. She shoots him, and he dies. The song discusses how the daughter needed a sense of closure after witnessing such a traumatizing event, her lover getting blown to pieces from the gun her father had.
Without TikTok, Mother Mother may have never recorded “Hayloft 2” or its incredible music video! Make sure to check out Mother Mother’s many, many other songs, as well as their new album titled Inside, just released along with “Hayloft 2” and its music video. The single is the real selling point, but many other songs are totally worthy of a TikTok trend, too!