Mik Dagger – Deadly Love
Mik Dagger – Deadly Love – EP Review
Well here we go! Always great to reconnect with Stereo Era Records and hear what our homie Matt Byron has discovered next. Dude’s got highly reliable taste in tunes and he’s smart about where he chooses to invest his time. Results have varied a little bit throughout the years as he’s refined his methods of production and hauled all his equipment out of his closets to get the best out of what he can do, but he’s been responsible for introducing us to a whole bunch of music we love, from his own tracks as a solo artist, to names like Meena Kaye, Bass4Night, Nomad Scorpio, and Bad Pilot…the latter of which went on to reach our annual top ten. Essentially, it can be said that if he’s interested, it’s a pretty fair assumption here that we will be too. When he puts his faith in an artist or band it’s easy to understand why that is.
And so, we enter the twisted world of sound being created by Mik Dagger. According to the bio you’ll find, she’s drawing inspiration from artists like Lorde, Grimes, and Taylor Swift. This is where I remind you fine folks out there reading that just because we might draw influence from an artist, doesn’t mean that you necessarily end up sounding exactly like’em. We can be influenced by many things from books to movies and we don’t sound like those either – see how that works? A lot of the time, it’s the character, personality, methods, achievements…these are the things we find inspiring and influential. Of the three names on that list, I get where Mik is coming from, at least to a degree. She’s got a sound that I suppose could be comparable to a few aspects of what Grimes does, a hazy uniqueness to the way that she sings that could potentially bring Lorde up in conversation when discussing comparisons, and then there’s Taylor…who…well…I mean, she inspires us all in some way, doesn’t she? Look…I’ll be real with ya…I never tend to rely on lists I see on pages other than our own…chances are they reflect ideals more-so than reality. When it comes to Mik Dagger, I’d probably be looking at something along the lines of a combination of sounds you’d find in like…hmm…I’ll take Grimes from the original list, but after that, I’m going to add a hybrid conglomerate of the artistic fearlessness of Bad Pilot, a bit of that solid distant indie rhythm & allure of something like MGMT, with the relevance, clever hooks & melody of someone like Oliver Tree without going so insanely far overboard to become a genuine caricature through humor. You can take Mik seriously…she’s got a great thing starting up here & I’m already excited to hear more.
A lot of what you’ll hear comes down to the brilliant way Mik’s ideas have come across in the music and melody, combined with the enigmatic personality she puts into the mic and the oddly addictive charm she possesses. Listen to “Fatal Flaws” at the beginning for example…you might even notice the massive hooks in the music of this song long before you realize how incredibly addictive the flow of her vocals becomes. The verses creep along with what plays like a Pop-infusion of a Post-Punk based vibe – Dagger sounds freakishly spectacular straight off the drop, so don’t get me wrong – all I’m saying is that she’ll go on to reveal the real magic in the chorus hooks that follow and the cleverness of her song’s design. Those instrumental breaks after the chorus gives “Fatal Flaws” a whole other set of hooks that can’t possibly be ignored, and we have no choice but to recognize that she’s building strength upon strength upon strength. The fascinating and enticing sound “Fatal Flaws” starts with is instantly interesting to our ears, she takes this song from good to great with that initial switch into the hooks around fifty seconds in, and then adds the icing on the cake by letting the music have its well-deserved moment in the spotlight right afterwards. “Fatal Flaws” is haunting, and becomes a perfect gateway into Deadly Love.
Dig it! The smoothness of “Deadly Love” works really well. Mik’s clearly got a defined style of her own, and to be real with ya, the more she leans into it, the further she’s gonna go. I really like the slick way that Mik sings and I feel like the star remains the star on these tunes. That’s truly saying something with as many great things as you’ll find happening in the music…I’m almost surprised by how much pull she has with our ears and how little we want to take them off her singing to us. She gets it though, and you can hear that…Dagger knows how to thrive in the spaces in between the layers…she can hear things that others can’t & where to fit vocals in, and it’s that precise skill that she’ll be able to build a whole legacy around. While the music provides a skeletal outline of where her voice can play a role, she’s insightful in how she goes about including vocals into the music, tapping into melody that would have otherwise been non-existent & giving songs like “Deadly Love” a completely different dimension of depth overall. Her natural instincts pair perfectly with her digital sound…and with respect to her list of influences like Taylor, Lorde, and Grimes – they’re ALL complete game-changers – Mik Dagger might very well end up adding her own name to a list like that one day if she keeps up her remarkably innovative ways. I very much dig that a track like “Deadly Love” is out there on the artistic fringe of an underground sound while still somehow offering mainstream appeal at the very same time…listeners are gonna love that.
“BabyGirl.m4a” ends up sounding like last night’s party song left out to melt in the midday sun, and YES – I mean that in the best of ways. It’s interesting in the sense that, you can almost sense by the extra punch that this song has in the mix and the energy of its vibe straight from the start that it’s being engineered or steered to be the single from this record…and while I guess I wouldn’t dispute the choice if that was indeed the case, I feel like I could make an argument for just about every song in this lineup to slide into that role. “BabyGirl.m4a” has a more lively and vibrant pulse to it on the surface that’s filled with glitter & gloss, while still retaining that tangible darkness to the dank themes that Dagger chooses to write about. So “BabyGirl.m4a” ends up becoming one of those great songs where there’s such widespread appeal to the sound on the surface that it’s bound to get people singing along with it long before they’re actually paying attention to what it is they’re actually singing about, you feel me? I love tracks like that. It’s not so much that they’re intentionally deceptive or deviously planned – it’s more of a comment on how people don’t tend to really dig into lyrics and content at the same speed they’ll catch onto a groove like this track possesses. Ultimately, they’re not gonna find anything that’ll turn them off when they eventually put “BabyGirl.m4a” under the microscope…you can look at this like a tale of Deadly Love that turns what could be a one night stand into a lifetime of memories. Mik’s got that love’em and leave’em attitude, but she’s got her admirers hangin’ on long after the moment has passed. At least, that’s the way I’m hearing it…she could definitely have a whole different interpretation of what “BabyGirl.m4a” is all about, but what we’ll all universally agree on is that it sounds damn good. Of the opening three cuts on this EP, I’d readily assume this is the one people will latch onto most at first, perhaps even despite possessing the sensuality of a creature in nature eating its onetime partner.
Like I was talking about earlier on, one of Mik’s greatest strengths is that she can hear music in a way that most can’t…and ultimately, I stand by that being an asset in her arsenal she can completely build around. A great example of this in action is “Like On TV” – a song that, if you were to look at it on paper would probably resemble the scrawlings of Renfield on the inside of his special place in asylum. You get what I’m talkin’ about – you’d look at the blueprint & figure it’s not gonna make enough tangible sense to pursue, and yet Mik seems somewhat driven by defying the odds in that regard. There IS going to be trial and error in an artist’s life…and I ain’t gonna lie to ya, it’s probably “Like On TV” that’ll split the audience’s opinion a lot more than the rest of this lineup will…BUT…personally, I’m enjoying it. I might be with ya in the sense that it’s not necessarily my favorite of the set here, but I do really appreciate what a song like this symbolizes in her career maybe more than any other cut represents. It’s tracks like “Like On TV” that confirm there’s real artistry and a perspective in what Mik creates…stunning ideas and innovation like you’d find in titans like St. Vincent, or even Prince…Dagger has truly staggering potential. Do I think “Like On TV” is one of her best? That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that it’s songs like this one that highlight the essence of her creativity & prove she’s willing to try things others won’t. Beyond any singular track’s success, courage displayed in the craft counts for a whole lot in my world.
I probably feel a bit similar towards “Brand New Cherry Flavor” as well if I’m being completely honest with ya. Good tune, no doubt about that – but I think it’s also equally true to say that it’s the first three cuts on Deadly Love that are probably going to make the biggest impact on listeners out there. I like that there is some mystery to this artist as well…I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what Mik Dagger is all about – yet…but don’t mistake that for her being unwilling to share. She’s put a lot of herself into these tunes, and the more she does over time, the further she’ll go. This is really a case of trusting someone’s natural instincts to lead them to victory, giving them the tools and assistance to get there like what Stereo Era Records is providing, and then standing back to watch how far it all goes. The truth will eventually become clearer over time and subsequent releases. Right now, you’ve got things like Mik’s Tik Tok channel saying she’s 21, and her bio claiming she’s been writing and producing “lo-fi bedroom Pop” since 2013. Which means she would have been ten years old at the time? I suppose that’s not impossible…and I’ve never been the best at math to begin with, so don’t quote me on that – but yeah…I feel like there’s probably more to that story than we’re getting right now. Maybe she’s intentionally messing with us all…maybe it’s only me that’s trying to do the math on this tiny little detail – or maybe truth is stranger than fiction, just like Bad Religion told us so many years ago. Anyhow. Y’all know I like diving down the rabbit hole for fun, and I appreciate that there are some threads to pull so that we can try to unravel the mystery that is Mik Dagger. “Brand New Cherry Flavor” is another decent tune to add to her catalog even if it might not go down as the most groundbreaking in the set. Bottom line is, if you like something on Deadly Love, chances are you’re going to dig on the rest you’ll hear too.
Even “Postscript” comes out strong at less than ninety-seconds in length. Do I wish there was a bit more to it? Sure! That’s hardly a bad thing though, right? Wanting more? You can’t put that on ME – that’s on her! Look…here’s what I think…I guess what I’d say is that we can tend to get caught up in creating content and sometimes rushing the process a little. Don’t get it twisted – things do sound great overall on this record, and I think I’m even more stoked about Mik’s potential for the future to follow than what we’ve discovered here on this shiny new EP. As it stands, Deadly Love is probably a bit front-loaded with the content that’ll grab most people’s attention…it’s a record that has a bit of a line down the middle separating what made it to side A, and tracks that drift more towards being B-sides in the latter half of the material. I stand by what I said earlier in that if you like something, you’ll probably be just like me and like everything on the Deadly Love EP…but I’m also the guy that’s gonna tell you I still believe that Mik’s got plenty more in the tank that’s going to be revealed later on down the road as she continues to excel in her craft & tap even further into the well of her creativity. Let me be clear though – I couldn’t be more pleased with Deadly Love as a solo debut…she could pick up where an artist like Poe left off long ago, become a part of the next Portishead, or go on to reinvent herself a million times throughout the course of her career to do things differently each and every time – I genuinely feel like she’s always going to be up to something well worth listening to and just scratching the surface of her greatness. She’s got undeniable authenticity – you can hear that from the start of “Fatal Flaws” right on through to the end of “Postscript.” The tremendous passion she’s got for crafting her sound and career will have her bringing consistently unique innovation to her songs over the years to follow that’ll keep everyone listening to her music…she’s already ahead of her time if you ask me, 100%…very bright future ahead.
Find out more about Mik Dagger from her official Tik Tok channel here: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikdagger
It’s a whole new year for you to ignore this message down here! Did you know you could be the next up on our pages at sleepingbagstudios by clicking here?
