3 weeks ago
15
It’s not hard to say yes to your vices, no matter the destruction to your liver, wallet, and soul. It’s just as easy to crawl into bed and numbly scroll while you wait for the consequences to blow over. The real work lies in moderation and discipline. On their new single, “Anesthetic”, Brooklyn-based MX LONELY cries out for a substance to bring them back to a healthy equilibrium.
“It's a feeling I think a lot of people connect to,” says vocalist Rae Haas. “You're trying to figure your way out of an uncomfortable feeling or an uncomfortable situation, and you can't really find the right way to alleviate yourself for long enough to do it. Speaking personally, it definitely came from not being able to find the right substance to take that edge off.“
MX LONELY's upcoming full-length debut album, ALL MONSTERS, is out February 20. Haas describes it as confronting “addiction and neurodivergence, which are two things we all have our own connections with individually.” The album battles all forms of monsters with compassion and resilience, with previous singles “Return to Sender”; “Shape Of An Angel”; and “Big Hips” illuminating the darkest corners of the psyche to coax themes of abandonment, addiction, and dysphoria into the spotlight.
Haas has always favoured heavy alt-rock and hardcore, finding solace and inspiration by watching people move during their live sets. “My medicine is being in a room full of people where maybe we're gonna push each other, we might kiss, we might hit each other, but the music is loud. It's at a level that your thoughts stop working and you're just feeling. That freedom is really important to me. The band is creating a punk meditation.”
Each member of MX LONELY recalls countless times they’ve wanted to dance, when everyone is standing with arms crossed. “I think mainly people just need an invitation to move,” Haas confesses. The band's visceral, pummelling sets are one of the reasons guitarist Jake Harms believes they’ve “always connected more to hardcore crowds.”
MX LONELY's onstage presence leans heavily into drag, mysticism, and “non-binary, creature-based stuff.” They enjoy falling down spirituality rabbit holes, according to Haas, they are “touched by the magic.” Creative partners at their new label, Julia’s War Recordings, helped bring these elements into the studio for ALL MONSTERS. “They gave us the means to explore stuff that we hadn't before,” says bassist Gabriel Garman.
With “Anesthetic”, the band stay true to their indie rock influences. Cavernous guitars crash into dizzying vocals and demand a full-body response. But ALL MONSTERS is already shaping up to be an enticing body of work. It embodies an unapologetic desire to reclaim the space and time lost to destructive behaviours. Expect even more honest lyrics, heavy hooks, and then some.
English (US) · 