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Canadian singer-songwriter and visual artist Mimi Oz’s new album, the self-produced Growing Pains aims to consolidate Oz’s talent into a caravan of styles and emotions, melding elements of soul, rock n’ roll, and jazz to her ever-growing sonic palette. Throughout the album, Oz tethers even the most oblique lyrics to the current sociopolitical climate, and even the most personal to our universal experiences. Maybe more prominent and poignant than her lyricism and genre-hopping, though, are the cascading themes of alienation, yearning, and pain, all of which hint at the degrees of Oz’s own empathy and the struggles inherent in being an artist in 2021, in New York City, in a pandemic, and in a time when everyone can’t help but ask “is it worth it?”
Her voice, at times ratcheted up to near Joplin-like intensity, just as readily morphs into confectionery doo-wop coos, or even punk rock sneer, like on the seething “Hate.” Recalling the passion and range of singer/songwriters like Angel Olsen at her most venomous, Lana Del Rey without the lethargy, and even Aimee Mann at her least morose.
From the gentle roar of opener “In the Water,” Mimi Oz communicates a wealth of emotion and color, as fuzzed out guitars bluntly elbow their way to the front of the mix before the song settles back into a harmony-laden piano ballad. The first words uttered here, “I was a sailor, stuck out at sea, drowning on 25 cold hard years of misery,” practically paints itself across your brain, an image conveying the richness of loss. The album itself flirts with a myriad of styles and genres, seamlessly shifting from Kate Bush-like buoyancy (“Caroline”), to brass-tinged soul-pop (“Time Will Tell”) to psychedelic piano rock (“Call Me Crazy”), each belying the ocean of talent and daring that Mimi Oz embodies. Rolling up elements of the past fifty years of music and imbuing them with the detritus of modern America: the tension of a hostile political climate, the claustrophobia of the pandemic, and the ways both engendered a culture of fear and abuse.
Her voice, at times ratcheted up to near Joplin-like intensity, just as readily morphs into confectionery doo-wop coos, or even punk rock sneer, like on the seething “Hate.” Recalling the passion and range of singer/songwriters like Angel Olsen at her most venomous, Lana Del Rey without the lethargy, and even Aimee Mann at her least morose.
From the gentle roar of opener “In the Water,” Mimi Oz communicates a wealth of emotion and color, as fuzzed out guitars bluntly elbow their way to the front of the mix before the song settles back into a harmony-laden piano ballad. The first words uttered here, “I was a sailor, stuck out at sea, drowning on 25 cold hard years of misery,” practically paints itself across your brain, an image conveying the richness of loss. The album itself flirts with a myriad of styles and genres, seamlessly shifting from Kate Bush-like buoyancy (“Caroline”), to brass-tinged soul-pop (“Time Will Tell”) to psychedelic piano rock (“Call Me Crazy”), each belying the ocean of talent and daring that Mimi Oz embodies. Rolling up elements of the past fifty years of music and imbuing them with the detritus of modern America: the tension of a hostile political climate, the claustrophobia of the pandemic, and the ways both engendered a culture of fear and abuse.
Mimi’s third solo album, Growing Pains, is a self-produced, seven song body of work recorded in both Toronto and NYC. Mixed by Grammy-winning engineer L. Stu Young, Growing Pains features performances by New York cellist/songwriter Meaner Pencil, keys, organ and wurlitzer by Aidan Scrimgeour and longtime Canadian collaborator Richard Weisdorf. Track “Call Me Crazy” was co-written by Mike Milazzo, with string arrangements by Dan Ricker of Under St Marks Theatre NYC. A guest performance by members Leigh MacDonald and Josh Aguilar of the Memphis group Zigadoo Moneyclips for the track “Caroline” was recorded by Grammy nominated engineer and producer Ari Morris. Mimi arranged all harmonies, string and horn sections, as well as playing acoustic guitar on select tracks, including the ballad “Star 111.”
Mimi Oz first burst onto the scene in 2013 with Three of Swords, an original debut produced by Toronto’s Bob Wiseman (Blue Rodeo). In 2015, she released her second album, Men Who Never Loved Me, and 2017 saw the release of a band EP, Baby On The J, by Mimi’s anti-folk group Rooster. Growing Pains was partly inspired by New York City, where Oz lived from 2018-2019. “Being in an area with such a rich artistic history really rubbed off on me and brought out so much creativity,” Mimi says.
Oz recently released a video for the final acoustic track on the album, “Star 111,” featuring choreography by Gabrielle Malone and Andrew Robinson (director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera). And while the world anticipates the return of live music with bated breath, Oz is taking full advantage of her free time, continuing to plug away at her songcraft and capturing the precarious spirit of modern times, while also perfecting her visual artistry. Luckily, while the world awaits to egress from our hibernation, we have records like Growing Pains to suture the cracks in our collective hearts.
“If the soulful sounds of Yola ever merged with the edgy alt of Phoebe Bridgers, the passionate artistic flair of Mimi Oz would surely emerge.” – Glide Magazine
