Mike and Mandy – Timeworn (2023)
After meeting in a Shakespeare play in a professional capacity, Mike and Mandy fell in love, took road trips and married three years later. Sharing their passion for music, the US-based duo merges their individual experiences with different genres to transcend any particular category. Describing genre as a cage, the pair prefer to experiment with their material and produce music that is entirely Mike and Mandy. This is my introduction to the band but they have reached beyond their US borders with coverage from Various Small Flames, Music On The Moon, TPJL News, Edgar Allan Poets, Mesmerized, Illustrate Magazine, Send Me Your Ears and various playlists. The latest addition to their discography is the single ‘Timeworn’.
Penned during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘Timeworn’ is truly a representation of these uncertain times. Looking at the topics of climate change, growing political tensions, public protests and a growing sense of societal chaos, it isn’t the best of times. Mandy explains that ‘Timeworn’ “was a result of ‘going downward and inward’…contemplating, yearning and feeling those difficult, sometimes contradictory feelings of both lightness and heaviness, joy and sorry” – a concept that we can all comprehend and connect with on a deeper level.
Embracing the DIY approach, ‘Timeworn’ is self-produced by Mike and Mandy following their well-received EP Shelter In Place. As with all of their material, the song is eclectic and encapsulates a sense of intense vulnerability. Mandy’s vocals lean towards Björk in their obscurity; however, the richness of her dulcet tones adds a Mike and Mandy stamp to ‘Timeworn’. One thing I find intriguing about ‘Timeworn’ is how Mandy’s hushed presentation screams fragility and vulnerability but it simultaneously has a sense of hopefulness.
While Mandy’s vocals take you on a heart-aching journey, Mike’s instrumentation is as passionate. Melding with Mandy, the synth-pop meets post-punk melody carries you along as if it were a shimmering sonic river. It might be the optimistic tone of the melody that adds that tinge of hopefulness to the song. Sincere, soft and sentimental, Mike and Mandy embrace all the uncertainty of the 21st century in the outstanding single ‘Timeworn’.
For more from Mike and Mandy, check out their official website, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
