This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (October 2022) |
Rising (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Mxmtoon, released on May 20, 2022, through AWAL. Rising was promoted by the singles "Mona Lisa", "Sad Disco", "Victim of Nostalgia", and "Coming of Age".
| Rising | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 20, 2022 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:49 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Mxmtoon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rising | ||||
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Background and promotion edit
Since the release of her debut studio album The Masquerade in 2019, Mxmtoon released the twin EPs Dawn and Dusk in 2020, and in 2021 contributed songs to the game Life Is Strange: True Colors. In November 2021, Mxmtoon told Dork that she was working on her second studio album, and aiming to release it in 2022.[3] On January 25, 2022, she posted a snipped of the song "Mona Lisa" on TikTok, along with making the song available for pre-save.[4] "Mona Lisa" was released as the album's lead single on February 8, 2022, alongside the announcement of a 2022 North American tour. Mxmtoon said of the song, "As someone who usually writes songs about other people, one of my ongoing questions is, 'Will anyone ever write songs about me?' Mona Lisa is about wanting to be the subject of the art for once instead of being the creator. I think we all daydream at some point in our lives of diving into our favorite stories and finding ourselves in the pages."[5] The music video for the song dropped on March 3, 2022, along with the hint that a full album might come in Spring 2022.[6]
Mxmtoon released the second single "Sad Disco" on March 24, 2022, and announced that the album's title and release date. Mxmtoon intended the song to be a sort of response to her 2018 breakout single "Prom Dress", saying "in a way, it feels like an answer to the girl who wrote 'prom dress' in the first place. serving as a reminder that she isn't stuck on the floor with tears streaming down her face forever, but that she'll grow up, and the loneliness she sometimes feels won't define her. she can still choose to dance and have her own 'sad disco'".[7]
The third single, "Victim of Nostalgia" was released on April 27, 2022. According to the artist, the song is "about missing the blind optimism and warmth that's so much easier to experience when you're younger. Wanting to escape back into a time when your worries weren't so pervasive."[8] The fourth and final pre-release single "Coming of Age" was released on May 13, 2022. Mxmtoon said the song is about "the growth I've experienced between writing, producing, and personally understanding the individual I know myself to be currently. It's a strange experience having thousands of people watch you grow up and enter your twenties, and it felt necessary to make a song that simultaneously celebrates the uncertainty of self discovery but can find confidence in growth."[9]
Tour edit
On February 9, 2022, Mxmtoon announced a headlining tour in support of the album, titled "Rising (The World Tour)" (stylized in all lowercase), with legs in North America, the United Kingdom, and Oceania. The tour started on May 2, 2022, in Montreal, Canada, and concluded on October 30, 2022, in Dublin, Ireland. Chloe Moriondo supported the North American leg of the tour.[10][11][12]
Shows edit
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1— North America | |||
| May 2, 2022 | Montreal | Canada | Fairmount Theatre |
| May 4, 2022 | Toronto | Danforth Music Hall | |
| May 5, 2022 | Detroit | United States | Majestic Theatre |
| May 7, 2022 | Chicago | House of Blues | |
| May 8, 2022 | Minneapolis | Varsity Theatre | |
| May 10, 2022 | Englewood | The Gothic | |
| May 11, 2022 | Salt Lake City | Complex | |
| May 13, 2022 | Vancouver | Canada | Vogue Theatre |
| May 14, 2022 | Portland | United States | Wonder Ballroom |
| May 15, 2022 | Seattle | Showbox Market | |
| May 17, 2022 | San Francisco | Regency | |
| May 20, 2022 | Santa Ana | The Observatory | |
| May 21, 2022 | Los Angeles | Fonda | |
| May 24, 2022 | San Diego | House of Blues | |
| May 25, 2022 | Phoenix | The Van Buren | |
| May 27, 2022 | Dallas | The Studio at the Factory | |
| May 28, 2022 | Austin | Scoot Inn | |
| May 29, 2022 | Houston | White Oak | |
| May 31, 2022 | Orlando | Beacham Theatre | |
| June 1, 2022 | Atlanta | The Loft | |
| June 3, 2022 | Washington, D.C. | 9:30 Club | |
| June 5, 2022 | Philadelphia | Theatre of Living Arts | |
| June 7, 2022 | New York | Webster Hall | |
| June 10, 2022 | Boston | Royale | |
| Leg 2— Oceania | |||
| October 4, 2022 | Melbourne | Australia | Recital Centre |
| October 6, 2022 | Sydney | Factory Theatre | |
| October 9, 2022 | Brisbane | The Triffid | |
| October 11, 2022 | Auckland | New Zealand | The Tuning Fork |
| Leg 3— Europe | |||
| October 17, 2022 | Paris | France | La Maroquinerie |
| October 18, 2022 | Leuven | Belgium | Het Depot |
| October 19, 2022 | Cologne | Germany | Bürgerhaus Stellwerk |
| October 21, 2022 | Munich | Freiheitshalle | |
| October 22, 2022 | Berlin | Kesselhaus | |
| October 23, 2022 | Warsaw | Poland | Praga Centru |
| October 25, 2022 | Hamburg | Germany | Mojo Club |
| October 26, 2022 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Paradiso Noord |
| October 28, 2022 | London | United Kingdom | Brixton Electric |
| October 29, 2022 | Manchester | Club Academy | |
| October 30, 2022 | Dublin | Ireland | Academy |
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [13] |
| DIY | [1] |
| The Forty-Five | [14] |
Alisdair Grice of DIY praised Mxmtoon's relatability as a songwriter, saying "Maia is to indie-pop what Olivia Rodrigo is to pop-punk – a fresh and welcome face that disregards gatekeeping in favour of utilising nostalgia to captivate new audiences, bridging a gap that ignores the omnipotent zeitgeist for confessional, shimmering accessibility".[1] Rhian Daly, writing for The Forty-Five, called it "a collection that gently encourages you to find light and joy again in the simplest, smallest ways."[14] The Guardian's Kate Hutchinson praised the album's sharp songwriting which she felt would appeal to fans of Phoebe Bridgers.[15]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mona Lisa" |
|
| 3:10 |
| 2. | "Learn to Love You" |
| Niccoli | 2:12 |
| 3. | "Victim of Nostalgia" |
| Niccoli | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Sad Disco" |
|
| 3:03 |
| 5. | "Frown" |
| Niccoli | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Florida" |
|
| 2:47 |
| 7. | "Scales" |
|
| 2:39 |
| 8. | "Growing Pains" |
|
| 2:42 |
| 9. | "Dizzy" |
| Niccoli | 2:54 |
| 10. | "Haze" |
| Niccoli | 3:11 |
| 11. | "Dance (End of the World)" |
| Niccoli | 2:38 |
| 12. | "Coming of Age" |
|
| 2:38 |
| Total length: | 32:49 | |||
Notes
- All track titles are stylized in all lowercase.
References edit
- ^ a b c Grice, Alisdair (May 19, 2022). "Mxmtoon - Rising". DIY. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Firth, Abigail (May 20, 2022). "mxmtoon: "Having to grow up with so many people watching you, it's really not a normal experience"". Dork. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Sam (November 17, 2021). "mxmtoon: "It's so neat, I never saw myself reflected in larger areas of pop culture growing up"". Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Sam (January 25, 2022). "mxmtoon has dropped a snippet of a new single called 'mona lisa'". Dork. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Ng, Scott (February 9, 2022). "mxmtoon unveils 'mona lisa', a new single from her second album, and North American tour dates". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ O'Connor, Siobhan (March 3, 2022). "mxmtoon has debuted the new video for her latest single 'Mona Lisa'". DIY. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Farrell, Margaret (March 24, 2022). "mxmtoon Mixes Tears and Glitter on Beaming New Single "sad disco"". Flood. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Shutler, Ali (April 28, 2022). "Listen to mxmtoon's coming-of-age anthem 'Victim Of Nostalgia'". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "MXMTOON SHARES NEW TRACK 'COMING OF AGE'". DIY. May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Ng, Scott (February 9, 2022). "mxmtoon unveils 'mona lisa', a new single from her second album, and North American tour dates". NME. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ Doria, Matt (March 28, 2022). "mxmtoon announces first-ever Australian and New Zealand tour for 2022". NME. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "mxmtoon announces European live dates". DIY. March 29, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "rising". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Daly, Rhian (May 20, 2022). "Mxmtoon – 'rising' review: sparkling indie-pop that refuses to let the world drag it down". The Forty-Five. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ Hutchinson, Kate (May 21, 2022). "One to watch: mxmtoon". The Guardian. Retrieved October 3, 2022.