OVERLOOKED OR UNDERRATED OR NEITHER?

Earlier this year, Canadian Single Mothers singer Drew Thomson and band members headed to the UK to play some shows marking the 10th anniversary of their album Negative Qualities. Here, Thomson ruminates on the highlights of touring the UK — and the Travelodge and Greggs are right up there...

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HERE'S WHERE IT lands. My name is Drew Thomson, and I am the founding member of a little band from Canada with two names: Single Mothers/SM Worldwide. One of the reasons we started going by SM Worldwide is that I was tired of explaining the name Single Mothers. I was raised by a single mother, and at the time of the band's formation, so was everyone else. It was an homage. Being in a band, only ever having what felt like half of what you needed, I don't know. That's where the name came from.

We've been around for longer than anyone thought possible, including me. I struggle even saying we're a band. We're more of a collective. We've had something like 40 different iterations. Almost every one of our five records has a completely different lineup of musicians on it. We're a revolving door of artists and musicians coming and going, putting their own spin on what we've done and what we're about to do. I've been the most consistent member, but even I've quit for a while and Single Mothers went on without me. I don't know any other band that functions this way, but we make it work. We get on planes, and in vans, and we play shows and tour and put out albums. It's chaos, honestly.

I'm convinced every tour is actually going to fall through until the first show starts. Our bio is "Single Mothers broke up in 2009 and have been playing shows ever since." But really, it should be "Single Mothers broke up in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 etc... and have been playing shows ever since." And we have, in one form or another, and for better or worse.