Mia Giovina is a New Jersey, USA-based singer songwriter who has just come to my attention thanks to the release of her debut EP. Consisting of five personal tracks, it’s called Without a Note.

By Graeme Smith

Like many in her age bracket, Mia first found success on TikTok, with lovers of sad girl music vibing with her cover of Harry Styles’ Cherry. It gained her a lot of followers, but all Mia has ever been interested in is making herself proud, and she likes to look at the release of her debut EP through the eyes of her younger self, who she says would be amazed by it.

The EP opens with Deathbed. It’s a dreamy and ethereal start that quickly develops into some pop rock, led by acoustic guitar and Mia’s delicate vocals. There’s a reflective feel about its lyrics, and emotionally we get some heart-rendering melancholia. It’s a captivating start.

Fair brightens things a little instrumentally without losing any of the emotional impact of the lyrics. Losing Time is an intimate and introspective, piano-led number that reaches a cinematic climax before Porch Light takes things in a folksy direction, with Mia’s vocals at their most heart-breaking.

Title track Without a Note closes the EP. A tale of unrequited love, it’s Mia’s song-writing at their most vulnerable. Its instrumentals start stripped-back but slowly builds to a powerful crescendo where Mia leaves it all out there. With it, she certainly leaves the best to last.

Still early in her career, Mia is already marking herself as a one to watch with this debut EP. It’s great that she is in it to make herself proud but this collection certainly has an eye on the audience too, and we’re welcomed into her world. If you’re a fan of Olivia Rodrigo or Holly Humberstone then you need to give Without a Note a spin. You can do so below.