She's curated tours with big-name, rotating lineups; launched her own clothing line; and co-wrote an animated short that she also scored, yet L.A.-based Mija took her time building up to release her first official EP.
How to Measure the Distance Between Lovers, from a turbulent artist who pushes against the idea of genre, is a darkly dreamy endeavour that oscillates between lyrical pieces and instrumental tracks, with the latter often gravitating toward the use of clipped vocal samples and elements plucked from across the decades — lithe chimes and high-end synths reminiscent of the end of the disco era, astral guitar riffs and low-end dissonance. The album also swings wide in its arc, oscillating between upbeat progressions and dark explorations. It's a musically nuanced album, with a remarkable amount of detail to find in each track.
Standout song "Notice Me" opens the album, and it's an apt title, while Mija's four simple lines on relinquishing love — or lust — push across melancholic synths that fade in and out. As if to balance out the delicate, a buzzing low end abruptly fills in and pushes the remainder to a close.
That said, the EP does suffer some awkward pulses, with tracks like "Speak to Me" and "Falling ApART (again)" quickly devolving into angsty lyrical tirades both for and against love — displayed pretty blatantly, and coming across quite cringe-worthy. How to Measure the Distance Between Lovers has a brilliant musicality to it, but feels stale in its lyrical exploration.
(Independent)How to Measure the Distance Between Lovers, from a turbulent artist who pushes against the idea of genre, is a darkly dreamy endeavour that oscillates between lyrical pieces and instrumental tracks, with the latter often gravitating toward the use of clipped vocal samples and elements plucked from across the decades — lithe chimes and high-end synths reminiscent of the end of the disco era, astral guitar riffs and low-end dissonance. The album also swings wide in its arc, oscillating between upbeat progressions and dark explorations. It's a musically nuanced album, with a remarkable amount of detail to find in each track.
Standout song "Notice Me" opens the album, and it's an apt title, while Mija's four simple lines on relinquishing love — or lust — push across melancholic synths that fade in and out. As if to balance out the delicate, a buzzing low end abruptly fills in and pushes the remainder to a close.
That said, the EP does suffer some awkward pulses, with tracks like "Speak to Me" and "Falling ApART (again)" quickly devolving into angsty lyrical tirades both for and against love — displayed pretty blatantly, and coming across quite cringe-worthy. How to Measure the Distance Between Lovers has a brilliant musicality to it, but feels stale in its lyrical exploration.