We get reacquainted with California, USA’s Mad Bad World and his single, Mirror Mime.

By Graeme Smith

With a lush electronic undercurrent and indie rock overtones, there’s more than a touch of Animal Collective about Mirror Mime. The vocals bring plenty of character and emotion to proceedings, delivering poetic lyrics without letting up. There’s a hypnotic quality to it all as things work up to a lather, and a strong, guitar-led finish.

Mad Bad World is the project of songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Matt Battle, who previously gained notoriety as the drummer for psychedelic-soul band Chicano Batman. Mirror Mime is taken from his album Mercy Memory, which has previously featured on our pages.

“I began this album and project in the aftermath of a different band and album (Gold Koa – Self Titled) I had worked really hard on putting together but unfortunately went on indefinite hiatus due to the pandemic,” says Battle. “The first Mad Bad World album, with the exception of the first two album tracks (Déjà vu, and Weirdo), was written during a very isolated and introspective time during the early stages of the pandemic. I had no clear band or album in mind, I just began writing and recording at home/in my rehearsal space in LA, and then wrote/recorded a lot in the woods of upstate New York where I retreated back to for 8 months in 2021.

“After returning back to LA in 2022, I continued the album in sublets, hotels, etc. as my girlfriend and I had kind of a rocky return to LA. It was definitely a testament to perseverance and one of the hardest albums to complete simply due to the circumstances surrounding it. I also feel it’s my most lyrically vulnerable album I’ve made thus far. I’ve been producing and recording my music for years, yet it was the first time in over a decade that I had made a solo album and played nearly everything myself.”

Mirror Mime is out now and you can give it a listen below.