Mary Middlefield is rising, 22 year-old Lausanne, Switzerland-based classically trained violinist, folk-pop singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has received attention for crafting steam-of-consciousness songs that veer between pop-punk fueled intensity and folk-inspired softness inspired by Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Claud, Jockstrap and The Japanese House. Thematically, the young Swiss artist’s work sees her wielding high drama, desire and vulnerability as keys to making meaning in a complicated universe, where abuse and love coincide.
Slated for an April 26, 2024, the young and rising Swiss artist’s forthcoming EP, Poetry (for the scorned and lonely) is reportedly her most cathartic release to date that will not only allow her to move forward with a clear mind and clean palette, but features music for listeners who are feeling stuck, scorned and lonely. Essentially, the EP’s material is an invitation for those who are suffering to scream their hearts and souls out alongside her.
The forthcoming EP will feature “Sexless,” “Heart’s Desire” and “Atlantis,” a breathtakingly gorgeous and remarkably accessible song built around a sparse arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar, ukulele, shimmering strings, atmospheric synths and a subtle yet supple bass line serving as a lush bed for Middlefield’s yearning and expressive delivery. Recorded at Lausanne-based AKA Studio with Alexis Sudan and Gwen Buord, “Atlantis” as Middlefield explains is a sadistic love ballad that explores the dilemma of being infatuated with a person who offers very little in return.
Originally written as a stripped-down track, Middlefield and Buord rearranged the song’s second part with intricate ukulele arrangements. Then they also tweaked the track a bit more, by adding strings and synths and an underwater-like feel to make the song sound dreamier while readily embracing a folk pop sound.
“Young and Dumb,” Poetry (for the scorned and lonely)‘s latest single may arguably be the most rock-leaning song of the EP’s singles to date. Built around a grunge-like song structure that alternates between textured and fuzzy, power chord-driven choruses and dramatic and dreamy verses with cinematic strings, the breakneck “Young and Dumb” features a narrator, who excoriates someone, presumably a love interest, who made a fool of her — and flagellates herself for her own naiveté and inexperience. Although I’m now in my mid-40s, the song captures a fairly universal sentiment of anyone who’s young and attempting to make their life in their own image, but not quite getting where they think they should be.