mxmtoon is warm and ambitious on new EP ‘dawn’
mxmtoon marks the feeling of being misunderstood in your teen-hood on her latest EP dawn. Sanding the edges of the tumult and havoc that seeps its way adolescence, the California-raised musician uses the seven-track offering to reckon with her personal challenges, and sculpt them into stepping stones of contentedness and reassurance.
Reflecting on the peaks and valleys that surfaced on the EP, “I wanted to remind people that things will be okay and even on the darkest day, the sun still rises,” Maia states. “I want to lift people up. I still love making sad songs, but I wanted to make something that felt refreshing to me this time.”
dawn’s sparse foundations and mxmtoon’s soft coos and gliding vocals make her collection of tracks an endearing step up from her prior release the masquerade. Maia, who is known better as mxmtoon shares, ”I knew that I didn’t want to do another album right awy… “It was a personal challenge for myself to write music that’s more externally-facing”.
Opener fever dream is resemblant of a love letter to the self, as the lo-fi track declares a desire for more and to take the road less travelled. “It’s a song about taking a leap of faith into an unknown world, which is what I did when I started making music,” she explains. Over a lush arrangement, mxmtoon proclaims that she will navigate past the fear of the unknown.
lessons is a heart on the sleeve showcase of the aftermath of fear and regret, and the teachings that can be found in our past mistakes. The most electro-pop leaning track provides an astute gaze and reflection of the inner self, rolling out a positive message in the importance of letting go. quiet motions relishes in the peace of being on your own, as her soft, tender echoes try to grasp onto the liberating feeling of isolation.
dawn “is my era of taking the production to another level, but also working with others to help me realize even more about the type of music I could make. I’m always striving to challenge myself to progress more—to have a better understanding of other people’s experiences and to write songs that express that. I’ve made a lot of the music I’ve been most proud of making,” says Maia.
mxmtoon’s presentation of her lived experiences on dawn highlights her ambition to live in the moment, and transform daydreams into real moments, without the pressure of holding onto the stress of overthinking and regret. Where a fleeting runtime of 20 minutes may not capture the intricacies of most, mxmtoon’s poetic and sensitive songwriting, enmeshed with her scenic soundscapes and melodious vocals are a signpost of what’s to come for the songstress.