Mecha Maiko
Nervous System
self-released
Canadian electropop artist Mecha Maiko’s new LP Nervous System could be called a breakup record, although that might be selling it short. Hayley Stewart’s songs have a genuine emotional realness that goes deeper than the standard i-hate-you-i-miss-you dichotomy, and instead focuses on the ways in which our hearts can cause us to abandon and then have to rediscover ourselves and the messiness that can entail, all set to a gritty but sweet suite of electronic sounds.
Important to the experience of listening to Nervous System is the absence of longing, at least in the normal ways we think about it. Right at the outset on Hello Stewart narrates a day of errands and interactions, small observations, all set to speedy breaks and ghostly reversed synths and atonal bleeps, acknowledging an absence, but allowing herself and her lovely, expressive voice to explore that space rather than wallow in it. More directly on the title track, there’s an acknowledgment of sorts about the whole thing: “I badly wanna change your mind/But maybe I’ll just change mine” (an instantly catchy hook with layered vocals that sink in fast and firmly). It’s not about dismissing desire or sadness, but owning them and then using them as a means of moving onwards.
Those kinds of finely detailed, and sometimes ambiguous emotions are reflected in Stewart’s good ear for sound design and production, especially on the vocals. The manic tempo of “Fool” never overwhelms, with waves of blips and intricate analogue drum programming swarming around the very human voice at its heart, with plenty of space to clearly make out its calm and confident lyrical rebukes. The record’s most strident moment comes via “Don’t”, where it’s extremely straightforward refrain is paired with a gradually intensifying bassline and drum sounds, simple but constantly pinging off one another in new and intriguing ways both funky and menacing.
Like another confessional left of center Canadian electropop act Devours, Mecha Maiko’s approach to making emotionally resonant music comes from a pairing of sweet melodies and oddball song structures and ideas. The songs on Nervous System are lovely and gloriously odd by turns, and above all sound honest and unique to the project. The record is its own thing, in its own genuine, fun, touching way, personal but pleasingly universal.
