Album Review: mxmtoon - 'rising'
mxmtoon is beaming with life and ready to take on her future with her new album 'rising'.
In 2017, the world was introduced to Maia, known as mxmtoon, as she began uploading Pop covers and her material on YouTube. With 6 million monthly listeners on Spotify as of May 2022, the bedroom pop artist is fuelling all our Friday night dance parties. With plans for two more EP's and more live shows, it all came to a halt in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Coming off the high of a tour in 2019, Maia found herself revisiting where her career began in her parent's guest bedroom. Although she returned to her roots, mxmtoon struggled to write throughout 2020. Now age 21, Maia is back with her second album, 'rising', giving us 12 songs she wishes she had when she was a teenager.
The album begins with the light and upbeat track, 'Mona Lisa'. With dreamy ukulele, tweeting birds and glittering strings, Maia sings of how she desires to be under the spotlight as a work of art instead of the creator for once. Maia's mesmerising voice sings, 'Tired of being a book on the shelf, tired of stories for somebody else', showing she wants to be the main character and be treasured by people like the Mona Lisa. With this track as the opener for 'rising', it grips and pulls you into experiencing the rest of this chapter of Maia's life.
With an instrumental introduction that reminds me of ABBA and summer, mxmtoon looks back to her past, as she misses walks with her mother and watching slasher movies in 'Victim of Nostalgia'. Fearing the change that comes with growing up, Maia struggles to move on, classing herself as a victim of nostalgia as she is happy with sticking with the good times of the past. Lifting the track, the drums and bass add a sense of youth and brightness, which transports me back to my adolescence and summers spent by the sea, making myself a victim of nostalgia whilst listening to this track.
In the sixth track of the album, 'Florida,' Maia is accompanied by tender acoustic guitar as she tells the story of visiting her dying grandfather. Distant and delayed vocals swirl around as mxmtoon expresses her frustration and mourns her loss whilst recalling her grandfather's youthfulness, showing that he had so much life about him. Maia is honest about her grief and emotions in 'Florida', showing listeners she isn't afraid to share the sorrowful moments of her life, a true and brave songwriter.
Surrounded by chaos, Maia has the perfect solution with the disco-inspired track 'Dance'. Thanks to the drums and funky bassline with its unbelievable groove, you'll find it impossible not to move as Maia hosts the best end of the world party. 'Dance' provides the perfect escape from reality, as its light-heartedness distracts listeners from the mayhem of their lives. As Maia belts out, 'and if the whole world's burning, hold on closer to me', you can't help but feel comforted, knowing that even though life is crazy right now, there is always mxmtoon to soothe your nerves.
The final track, 'Coming of Age', is moody and playful with a synth melody
that follows Maia. Supported by electric indie guitar, jamming its way into the next phase of Maia's life, she sings 'It's the end of an era, I put my fist in the air, and then I look in the camera, and tell them to let the credits roll' a nod to 1985 coming of age movie The Breakfast Club. Although Maia is moving into the next exciting stage of her life, this track still shows her young, rebellious side of her.
After a heavy and confusing two years, 'rising' is the perfect remedy for Maia and her listeners. Revisiting the difficult times of her life, Maia put her guard down and has allowed us to grieve, laugh and cry with her. This album is what Maia needed to make for herself; a new story with plenty of chapters for you to dive into heart first.
Words by Amy Mealing
