Mia Gladstone isn’t new to the music world. She has put out one full-length album, “Grow” (2018), and several singles on streaming platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud. She has been featured in three songs (“Ms. Gravystone,” “Charlene” and “Gold”) by artist Yung Gravy. In addition, Gladstone has songs with Ciscero, Flwr Chyld and tobi lou. The two CYCLE/S singles, “Change the Channel” and “Food”, have made it onto spotify playlists such as New Music Friday, Anti Pop and Lorem, along with the likes of artists like Still Woozy, Wallows and Harry Styles. The curator of Lorem is quoted saying the story behind the songs picked is based on the question: “What type of music are younger audiences ready for based on their other habits?” In that case, Mia Gladstone is a perfect choice.
The title CYCLE/S fits flawlessly with this EP in my opinion, as Gladstone details the many circles people go through in life. We have bad days and good days, and the only thing you can really control about those is your attitude. Bouncing between groovy basslines and funky instrumental interludes, Gladstone’s lyrics have a fast-paced backdrop to empowering and positive lyrics.
In my opinion, the best track of this album is “Change the Channel.” Mia Gladstone encourages the listener to “Just be good to yourself” and not forget the power you have; if you don’t like what you’re “watching”, you have the power to change the channel. Gladstone is often seen on social media sharing her positive affirmations and encouragement of living purposefully. On the song, Gladstone sings:
“Earth it moves and it rolls
Round nobody revolves
If you here or you go
It gon rotate and flow
No switching on em
But you never stuck on the same channel”
A mantra to remember, “Change the Channel” takes the familiar phrase to a higher level with the clever lyrics and a melody to remind you of the power you hold.
“Food”, the second single of the EP, centers around Gladstone’s up and down feelings about the way she looks. In the song, lyrics like “Make your own body like a buffet” and “Put on a shirt, don’t dress like a man” refer to what it’s like being a woman who is sexualized from a young age. The way Gladstone looked on the outside changed her relationship with food, her gender and her body. She said in an instagram post that “Now I own my body and post it as a means of self-acceptance… It’s a way of taking control of my narrative.” While she does talk a lot about positivity, I think there is a special power in when she takes time to expose the other side of these feelings – when you don’t feel quite so positive and confident.
On “I Feel Fine,” Gladstone opens with “I tell myself to resist the temptation/Of inflating how I’m feeling/But I can’t dismiss these thoughts/They make me sick.” When there’s another person involved, Gladstone shares how difficult it can be to know which feelings require action, and if others are an overreaction. “Ego” is the energetic conclusion track that’s full of snappy lyrics driven by a simple bass line. Gladstone sings “Why you come and bother me with problems you create?/My whole fit cost five bucks and I’m flyer than a plane,” but ends the track with the repetition of “we’re all beings of love,” as a conclusion for the EP as a whole.
Mia Gladstone has struck a nearly perfect balance on CYCLE/S; the good and bad in life coexist and we have to find ways to accept and love it. Cycling through people and places and feelings is part of the human experience, and Mia Gladstone shares her history with it on this EP. Her witty and fast lyrics flow along the funky, high energy music, made even better with excellent production by Danny Shyman. Take a listen and let CYCLE/S lead you to empowerment.