Australian indie rock artist Angie McMahon shares the tales and life classes behind her ‘Mild Sides’ EP – an extension of her universally acclaimed sophomore album, constructed on poetry, uncooked emotion, and a deep reverence for music’s skill to heal.
Stream: ‘Mild Sides’ – Angie McMahon
I’m so grateful to be releasing music… doing these issues makes me really feel like I’m an actual particular person with an actual job, and never only a pile of feelings.
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Angie McMahon’s music has at all times felt like a quiet revelation – an intimate dialog between artist and listener, wrapped in uncooked lyricism and wealthy, unguarded emotion.
The Australian singer/songwriter (and two-time Atwood Editor’s Decide) earned widespread acclaim along with her sophomore album Mild, Darkish, Mild Once more, a report that resonated deeply with listeners and critics alike upon its late 2023 launch. Praised for her superbly weak, unflinching songwriting and a cathartic, cinematic indie rock sound, the follow-up to 2019’s debut LP Salt discovered McMahon embarking on a musical journey of internal reckoning and subsequent redemption, delving into her personal darkness solely to (ultimately) discover her method again out once more.
A 12 months later, McMahon’s Mild Sides EP extends the world of Mild, Darkish, Mild Once more whereas creating its personal particular house. 5 beforehand unreleased songs, all written within the course of of creating the album and “born in the identical universe,” seize each the early levels of her album’s creation and the teachings she discovered after its completion – weaving by means of themes of transformation, uncertainty, and acceptance.
I didn’t wish to keep the identical
I didn’t wish to hear the change stroll in
I didn’t wish to harm you and
It’s at all times going to start out and finish
With I didn’t need ache, with I used to be afraid
I wanted rewiring
And breaking this open
meant beginning a riot
My least favorite feeling
Is hurting somebody
’trigger I used to be gradual at therapeutic
– “Untangling,” Angie McMahon
“Mild Sides is a group of songs that dwell alongside Mild, Darkish, Mild Once more,” McMahon shares. “They didn’t match within the report and I didn’t know in the event that they’d be launched, but it surely feels proper to finish the chapter by letting these ones go… I hope these further items give somewhat further color to the story.”
She provides, “It sort of bookends the expertise of the report. A few of the writing is from the very early days, earlier than I knew what the album was attempting to say, and among the recording is from after the album was performed, after I had learnt the best way to make studio periods extra free flowing and pleasant. So it sort of holds the beginnings and endings of some life classes.”
Launched September 2024 by way of Gracie Music / AWAL, Mild Sides is residence to a few of Angie McMahon’s strongest and shifting music thus far.
Songs like “Newbie,” “Simply Like North,” and “Untangling” mirror private and emotional evolution, exploring ache as a path to progress, whereas “Interstate” unpacks the transition from unattached independence to romantic partnership, and “Take Up Area” employs empathy as a method of understanding outdoors views.
Atwood not too long ago included “Untangling” in our year-end function on the Finest Songs of 2024, describing it as a masterclass in cinematic vulnerability: “Without delay intimate and all-consuming, unfiltered and uncooked all through, it’s a cathartic confessional that doesn’t a lot swoop excessive, because it does unfold out throughout us. From the regular, percussive pulse of the drums and bass to a deeply expressive, effected, radiant electrical guitar melody, McMahon creates a world into which artist and viewers alike dwell in life’s depths.” Rigorously, she picks open emotional scars, permitting her listeners into a non-public remedy session the place she candidly acknowledges her personal perceived shortcomings and failings – and the way she in the end overcame them so as to persevere by means of hardship:
I dropped out of my previous form
And the strikes that I made as much as twist
So I match some place
Now I carry weights, and I really feel secure
I’m not so afraid
I’ve received one thing I’m happy with
Rising from one thing that I’m rising out of
It was a joint misadventure
And I’m untangling you from my centre
I’m untangling you from my centre
– “Untangling,” Angie McMahon
Whereas the EP could also be a companion to Mild, Darkish, Mild Once more, there’s no denying that Mild Sides carries its personal weight.
There’s a tenderness, a heat, and a self-awareness to those specific tracks that set them aside in her oeuvre, and but they’re additionally quintessential Angie McMahon: From finish to finish, she dwells within the stunning, gut-wrenching depths which have outlined her artistry from day one – hanging an emotional chord by means of songs that ache brazenly and actually by means of moments of transition, progress, heartache, and self-discovery.
In our dialog, Angie McMahon invitations us additional into her world – one constructed on poetry, uncooked emotion, and a deep reverence for music’s skill to heal. Learn on under as she discusses the fantastic thing about imperfection, the quiet energy of embracing change, and the tales behind these songs – from rock-bottom revelations to the magic of leaving a monitor unfinished, but full.
“I feel what I’m taking from this expertise for the time being is a mixed sense of function and gratitude and group,” she says with a smile.
Mild Sides is out now.
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A CONVERSATION WITH ANGIE MCMAHON
Atwood Journal: Angie, it’s nice to reconnect! How has Mild, Darkish, Mild Once more grown with you over the previous 12 months?
Angie McMahon: I like it greater than I did! Like while you begin relationship somebody and your first recollections are principally non-public, however as soon as your relationship is sound you introduce them to your family and friends, you all begin making recollections collectively, and also you get to fall in love with them extra whereas they open up your world. I feel this report has expanded for me and saved making sense in new methods.
Do any of its tracks nonetheless resonate with you, nonetheless? Which songs proceed to face out?
Angie McMahon: My favourites from the start had been “Fish” and “Making It By way of,” and I feel that has stayed true, these ones maintain a particular place.
Right here you at the moment are, a 12 months later, with a very stunning new EP’s price of tracks. What’s the story behind Mild Sides?
Angie McMahon: Thanks a lot! These are sort of the B-sides, those that didn’t make it onto the album however had been in-built the identical world. We had the thought to place out a deluxe model of the album, however these 5 songs felt like they needed their very own highlight, and I appreciated the thought of following an album with somewhat sister EP as an alternative.
I perceive this report got here collectively form of piecemeal, throughout and after the album’s periods. For you, what does this EP signify, and what recollections does it conjure up while you look again on it?
Angie McMahon: It sort of bookends the expertise of the report. A few of the writing is from the very early days, earlier than I knew what the album was attempting to say, and among the recording is from after the album was performed, after I had learnt the best way to make studio periods extra free flowing and pleasant. So it sort of holds the beginnings and endings of some life classes.
These 5 songs felt like they needed their very own highlight, and I appreciated the thought of following an album with somewhat sister EP as an alternative.
I actually love the opening strains of “Newbie”: “I needed to attain the underside, begging on the door, praying it will open to who I used to be earlier than… Felt like I used to be dying, however I used to be simply being born.” What does this tune imply to you, and why open the report with it?
Angie McMahon: This one was written and recorded extra not too long ago than the others, after shedding some pores and skin. I’ve discovered loads of peace in this type of Buddhist thought of rock-bottom, and the way whole hopelessness could be a level the place you begin to query every thing and eventually free your self from some struggling.
Emma Louise (co-writer) and I had been reflecting on this lesson that problem is a part of the trail, and you must contact the middle of your ache to open into the following model of your self. I liked scripting this tune along with her, and I like the tune, it simply routinely felt like the best one to open with – I didn’t actually have to consider it!
I’d like to unpack the refrain with you: “Some are wild, some are blessed, some are sort, some are stressed, some will take to be the winner. I’m at all times a newbie.” The place do you suppose this mantra got here from, and the way do you interpret it?
Angie McMahon: We had been looking for an enlightened method to say that some individuals are assholes, and that doesn’t imply you must be an asshole. For me it’s an invite to remain true to my values, irrespective of how challenged I’m by folks.
It’s important to contact the middle of your ache to open into the following model of your self.
A fast observe about “Simply Like North” – I feel the road “You needed to be ugly earlier than you had been beautiful” is considered one of your all-time finest. It’s so highly effective, and it leaves me with lots to consider. Are the lyrics on this EP particularly a degree of pleasure, for you?
Angie McMahon: Thanks! Yeah, I feel that could be a favorite for me, too! I do actually love the lyrics on the EP, I used to be studying extra poetry on the time and it’s a great reminder to return and gas the mind with good phrases and artwork. I really feel like an empty nicely for the time being!
I actually, really consider that “Untangling” is likely to be considered one of your best songs, musically and lyrically; it’s only a weak, cinematic masterpiece. What was the method of writing “Untangling” like for you? Had been you continue to within the thick of it while you put ink to paper, or did you benefit from time and distance to really feel any bit faraway from the state of affairs?
Angie McMahon: I used to be so within the thick of it, I couldn’t work out the place to take the tune or the best way to end it – I feel that’s why I sat on it. This untangling has felt like a traumatic fog and may be arduous to see by means of. I solely completed the tune within the studio as we had been recording it, within the studio between tour dates, as a result of we had a deadline and I needed to let it go!
You shut the report with the slow-burn “Interstate” and brooding, warbly “Take Up Area.” Do you thoughts sharing a bit about these final two songs?
Angie McMahon: “Interstate “is the one tune of this chapter that’s really about my present associate, so I’m glad it will get to be out, I wrote that after we had been falling in love and I felt like I used to be abandoning an unbiased season. After that, some unhappy issues occurred that impressed the remainder of the songs, so this one was written early and is the one one about that love story!
And “Take Up Area” was impressed by a tune immediate from my gifted good friend Mimi Gilbert, in a songwriting membership that we’re a part of. The concept was to put in writing from a perspective you normally don’t use, like perhaps the viewpoint of the one that is hurting you. Mimi is such an empathetic particular person and highly effective author, and I feel while you convey empathy into songwriting, you might be reminded that we’re all experiencing a lot of the identical ache and frustration, which is simple to overlook.
It is a quick EP, but it surely’s a deeply impactful one. What do you hope listeners take away from Mild Sides, and what have you ever taken away from making it and now placing it out?
Angie McMahon: Perhaps it’s not for the author to say what folks take from the work, however I hope the songs change into a good friend to somebody, and a few good recollections may be made alongside them! It’s been an incredible train in imperfection, as a result of I didn’t have as a lot time to spend on the tiny particulars of those ones, which doesn’t actually matter – a tune is a tune and belongs on the planet when it’s performed.
I’ve felt so generously held by the folks listening to my music and coming to reveals this previous 12 months, and I’m so grateful to be releasing music as nicely – doing these issues makes me really feel like I’m an actual particular person with an actual job, and never only a pile of feelings. I feel what I’m taking from this expertise for the time being is a mixed sense of function and gratitude and group.
It’s been an incredible train in imperfection, as a result of I didn’t have as a lot time to spend on the tiny particulars.
For those who had been to drag one or two life classes from the songs you’ve launched over the previous two years, what would they be?
Angie McMahon: God, there have been so many. Two of them are that there is no such thing as a avoiding struggling and alter, they’re a part of the trail, and {that a} self-compassion observe may be completely life-changing – and can be cool and enjoyable!
Within the spirit of paying it ahead, who’re you listening to today that you’d advocate to our readers?
Angie McMahon: Annie-Rose Maloney’s “Maintain Me,” Mimi Gilbert’s “Police Checks,” Hannah McKittrick’s “Utensil,” Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Buffalo,” Leif Vollebekk’s “Moon Canine,” Charlotte Cornfield’s “In Your Nook,” and Mallrat’s “Want On An Eyelash.”
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