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ALBUM REVIEW: Mitzi 'Truly Alive’

22 February 2013 | 3:00 pm | Lauren Payne

Brisbane has been pumping out some awesome acts over the past few years. Now yet another band has just released their first album, and they are MITZI.

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Being a Brisbane-ite for the past year has taught a few things: 1. That no matter where you are in Queensland, it’s either really hot, or really wet, 2. Public Transport and owning a car can be just as bad as each other, and 3. That Brisbane has one of the most exciting music scenes you’ll find in good ol’ Aus.

Brisbane has been pumping out some awesome acts over the past few years, think DZ DEATHRAYS, DUNE RATS, JAKARTA CRIERS and VIOLENT SOHO, and now yet another Brisbane band has just released their first album, and they are MITZI.

MITZI first started out as a bedroom project of Jad Lee and Dominige Bird on the Sunshine Coast, but soon after winning the Bang Gang 12 Inches Remix Competition, playing a variety of gigs, and having a little line-up shuffle, MITZI have become one of Brisbane’s most exciting new acts.

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Pumping out the disco infused beats that drew Future Classic, the label behind FLUME and FLIGHT FACILITIES, to their doorstep, MITZI have created a fantastic album that every Brisbane-ite would be happy to own. On that note, I am proud to present to you Truly Alive by the boys from up north!

WHO WILL LOVE YOU NOW

Ahh, the lovely opening track. A smooth beat opens ‘Who Will Love You Now’ followed soon by the soft vocals that echo through the track. The harmonies accompany the melody in the chorus as they sing, “we will find a way to set things straight in our hearts,” and by it sounds nice. ‘Who Will Love You Now’ is a nice relaxing song that just seems to hit the spot and makes you want to kick back and put your feet up.

The light synths twinkle throughout the track. It sound similar to something FLUME might put out, however MITZI have produced a much lighter track that can be played softly in the background of a café or a barbeque whereas FLUME tends to dominate any situation. MITZI have used ‘Who Will Love You Now’ as lovely opener because it doesn’t jump in your face and scream, “WE’RE HERE!’ it just asks you to sit back and listen to the music, which I will happily do.

CAN’T CHANGE HER

Bongos. Everything is better with bongos. The mini drums from the islands beat throughout ‘Can’t Change Her’ giving it a slight tropical tang whilst also using the disco synths that MITZI have become known for. The bass in this track tends to go hand in hand with the bongos creating a very solid beat that just sounds like you’ve put attitude and swag in a jar. (I apologize for the use of the s word).

The lyrics in this track are quite beautiful and create a nice picture, the chorus “if the sky is clear should I hear an echo,” may sound strange at first, but mixed with the smooth melodies being made by the boys make it sound almost magical and this pretty much tells us what we’re in for on ‘Truly Alive’, and that is magic, MITZI have made some disco, dance magic.

LIKE IT WAS

Opening with some smooth synths, ‘Like It Was’ is calm and cruisy with its soft beat, and soft vocals that have a tone of reverb. It sounds almost ghostly, if the ghost was bright purple and in a room filled with a bajillion colours. ‘Like It Was’ is a nice track that soothes the eardrums after a long day of doing whatever it is you do for a living, The sound is very disco-esque infused with a cool aura that reminds you of swimming in a deep pool.

The synths dance playfully throughout the track and dominate it, with the vocals only featuring in a small part of the track. The outro slowly fades out take small pieces of the synth out until you’re left with one last note fading out slowly and drifting off into the next track.

TRULY ALIVE

The title track of the album opening with a bouncy bass and slightly distorted vocals embodies a more energetic vibe than the other songs so far. It sounds playful and the layered vocal tracks sound lovely as they have been throughout the record. So far the whole record has just sounded like a lovely Technicolor dream, and ‘Truly Alive’ has now brought some patterns into the smooth colours making it bounce more and sound more alive.

‘Truly Alive’ is definitely more of a dance track rather than a disco driven track, however you can still hear some disco inside it along with some strange samples that you may not recognize, but it works and that’s what really matters right? MITZI are definitely a very successful disco and dance band and ‘Truly Alive’ feels like the middle of the day, where you have lots of energy and you’re busy doing errands and such, the beginning of the LP sounded a lot slower and dreamier so perhaps, this is a day turned into music? Hmmm.

MODERN LIFE

A light synth oozes into ‘Modern Life’ and for a second you are reminded of the into to PASSION PIT’s ‘Take A Walk’, and then we are soon introduced to a lovely acoustic melody that reminds us that these guys aren’t copycats, they have their own sound and mixing a light synth with a relaxed acoustic guitar is just something they’ve realised works really, really well. ‘Modern Life’ sounds like a bit of a walk in the park where you’re just watching the world go by on a sunny day with a smile on your face.

MITZI really know how to project a good mood onto their listeners and that is one talent that few musicians possess, the power to change a person’s outlook on the world. ‘Modern Life’ makes me feel content with the world, although I’m an 18 year old uni student with a million problems, but whilst listening to this track, they’re all gone. MITZI have wiped away my awkward angry mood and for that I thank them and the soft synths, chirpy guitar and smooth vocals flow through my ears.

THE END

And now we’ve come to ‘The End’, the most appropriately named track on the album. A nice synth yet again fades into the track, this time with a repetitive tune that begins again and again as some more synths, or is it vocals glide over the top of them creating an interesting combination of both soothing and bouncy samples. Extended over nine minutes, ‘The End’ changes its tone from its dreamy into, to a dance track with a heavier beat. Vocals don’t enter ‘The End’ until about three minutes into the track and just softly sing, “I don’t want to die,” making ‘The End’ a pretty interesting track.

The simple lyrics and the elongated build up work so well together and tend to draw the listener in with a slight suspense making them wonder where the track is going to go next. About five minutes into the track, it fades to just he synths that creates the heavy beat and all goes quiet. For an entire minute there’s silence, until the track fades back in and we are pulled back into a last hurrah before Truly Alive is at its end.

Check the full album stream above

Words by Lauren Payne