Wednesday 30 October 2013

Sometimes Life's Cool Review

Mi Mye
Sometimes Life’s Cool
Philophobia Music




Mi Mye was born in the North of Scotland in 2003 and Jamie Lockheart was (and is) the proud father of this talented 10 year old. Fresh from recent sessions on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 music show Mi Mye’s new album “Sometimes life’s cool” will be released on Philophobia Music on 4th November.

Having lived in Wakefield for only 3 years my exposure to the band has been limited to seeing half of their set at Long Division 2011 and hearing the eponymous track from this album (about which more later) on the recently released Philophobia compilation “We Phopped something in the water”.

The album opens with “Great sucksess” with its exuberant “Daddy was a bankrobber” vibe and a vocal signature which is, to a degree, the bedrock of the record. Brash and joyous, it is a great opening song which is followed up by the more urgent “Leviy” and the doleful “When I get home”, with its swirling organ and deadpan, wistful vocal delivery. Already the album has done more than it needs to justify the studio time, but it is still to peak.

Some weeks ago I awarded (how very grand of me) “the single of the year so far”, to a band based only a stones throw from Wakefield and although I’m sure they treasure the accolade it is time for them to carry it from Leeds and place it at the feet of Mi Mye. In the title track “Sometimes life’s cool” the band has produced a song so achingly beautiful, so heartfelt and honest that I do not expect to hear a better song this year. Lyrically and musically unvarnished it is a standout track and manages this feat in the face of stiff competition from half a dozen other songs on this impressive and moving album.

When music reaches this quality it can be a challenge to do it justice in words. The leap from the sound, feel and emotion of an album to the page can be too wide a gap to bridge. The translation is too clumsy. So here is my best shot. The title track “Sometimes life’s cool” moved me to tears. Pathetic really but there you go.

The one simple solution to ensure you feel the full force of this impressive and moving album is to buy it.

The album overall has a faint Celtic feel without ever bursting into a jig and reel and although it is deliberately lo-fi it does not do this at the expense of musical subtlety.

Mi Mye will release their new album on November 4th. Hear it first at the launch at the Hop on Friday 1st. I will personally give you your money back if you are disappointed.

Karl Shore 
Twitter @larkhorse


http://philophobiamusic.bandcamp.com/album/sometimes-lifes-cool

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