By: Eric Reyes
June 13, 2021

aking cues from various hit music videos, both in aesthetic and theme, and making them all her own, artist Mindy makes the ground tremble in her latest release, ‘Am I Alive.’

I often complain about the oversaturated, monochromatic, neon-drenched look, because more often than not when it’s used, it’s used in place of substance, of spectacle, in place of a worthwhile act to support. All the bright, edgy lighting schemes of soft and flat, or aggressive with deep shadows, to make up for the depth missing in the artist they’re working to support.

Mindy is an act that brings the heat, the depth, the noise, and the visuals are in service to this. Her voice brings me back to the grittier industrial/euro-house, dark-synth-pop hybrids that were haunting the periphery of pop culture in the early 00’s. Rock, as always, has its dirty fingernails dug into this track with the menacing bass guitar beneath it all. We’re introduced to it before the titular Mindy, when really its just there to roll out the beat up, blood, sweat, and tear-stained carpet. Alongside is a driving suite of electronic percussions that feed into that neanderthal part of our brain that makes us love to clap and drum and stomp and sway and bob our heads. But it’s not a shy player in this ensemble, either, building into this full cascade by the end that washes around the vocals to really carry them off to impassioned highs.

Mindy’s vocal performance, ominous-sounding bass guitars and primordial percussions aside, is the emotional core of this track. While the instrumentals stand on their own well enough, as I’ve mentioned earlier, they’re here in service to, and in support of, the artist. She is unafraid to push the boundaries of her vocal range, with shrieks, rasps, and husky coos that are chilling. Aside from these vocal dalliances with the edge, her overall performance is breathless and at the constant edge of a pained sigh, almost argumentative, making a point that for some reason keeps needing to be made, to her chagrin and exhaustion.

This track might be my pick for best track of June, so far. Don’t miss out on the video, and definitely don’t miss out on this kick-ass act.

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