MIIRRORS

MIIRRORS made their musical debut in a bold, beautiful way covering Jeff Buckley’s raw demo Gunshot Glitter with Buckley’s original drummer, Matt Johnson.  “Gunshot Glitter needed to happen. It was a bow on a present to ourselves that fit just right, and having our friend Matt Johnson- Jeff’s drummer- was the obvious choice in our initial discussions. I was in Mexico with Matt when he was playing a festival with St. Vincent, and I remember feeling so nervous to ask him if he’d be interested in recording it…” After securing Johnson on drums, the group took their heads and hearts to Steve Albini’s recording studio Electric Audio and recorded what would become the closest thing die-hard Buckley fans have to a polished cut of the unfinished demo he’d left behind.  “Buckley was a formative artist for both of us, and that song has been a favorite of ours since Sketches for my Sweetheart, the Drunk was released.”

While their first release as a band was a cover, their originals hold a similar chilling magic to Buckley’s music. With their debut EP Nightwalk now released, it’s clear that MIIRRORS’ cover is just the beginning of an exciting music career.  The pairing of big open sounds with graceful details between proves that this group truly transcends genre.  Each composition beginning with stripped down drums and guitar, the evolution of their music seems to explode in the studio.  “Our songs usually begin with Shawn and I playing drums and guitar in a room.  Sometimes, I’ll bring an idea that’s been hanging around for a while, and we’ll chisel away and interpret that idea on two instruments and vocals. I think it’s very important to be able to perform a song on only a few instruments if necessary. It means you have a strong foundation. Other times, we’ll just start making shit up from scratch. We’ll explore sounds or patterns until something feels special, continuing to focus in on what’s bringing energy into the room.”  

In addition to their diverse music tastes, MIIRRORS’ sound is greatly inspired by cinema.  When asked about influences, they noted “Cinema. Design. Sonic textures, how singular tones and noise can have just as much of an emotional pull as actual melody… everything. Colors, travel, cinema, great music, beauty in any form, frustration…Stanley Kubrick. He was so great.”  Their cinematic influences come as no surprise considering the grand, rich sound that MIIRRORS captures.  Their music completely engulfs the listener, similar to the hypnotizing glow of a floor to ceiling movie screen.

“I’ve been meditating for some time on the idea of freedom, and how we think about it. To me, there’s nothing above feeling free, and there are so many things and people that want to hold us back from it…”

The hauntingly beautiful melodies of MIIRRORS wraps you up in a blanket of wonder.  It’s the kind of music that makes you ask big life questions to yourself lying on your bedroom floor.  The band explains their music as a sort of spiritual catharsis, Shawn expressing “personal resolves despite the uncertainties of your environment. Introspection and sometimes even self-delusion.”  Brian adds, “everything begins in the mind, and how you see yourself. I am a strong believer in the idea that there is no inherent evil, and that there are only happenings, and reactions, or non-reaction.”  Needless to say, if MIIRRORS’ sound pulls you into a place of deep existential questioning, you’re not alone.

While MIIRRORS has been a slow-evolving project, the group has planted their roots in Chicago among its “strong community” of creators.  “There’s an earnestness that I feel when I think about Chicago, and I think it can be felt in the music that’s made here. There’s the trope that the quality of an artist’s work is informed by suffering. Maybe the winter’s here are cause for an extra layer of suffering that makes the music just that much sweeter! Who knows!?” 

Though the scene is on pause for the time being, MIIRRORS keeps their creative wheels turning with new and exciting things on the way.  A music video for their single ‘Nightwalk’ is coming soon, along with a live-recorded session at Wicker Park’s Narwhal Studios.  On top of it all, we can hopefully expect a new MIIRRORS record sometime before next spring.  According to the band, “we have tentative plans to release our first full-length album in the winter or spring, preceded by another single.”  With an already strong music catalogue, I’d expect to see the band doing big things when the main stages re-open.  And if the Nightwalk EP is any indication of that future, I can’t wait.  

Keep up with MIIRRORS

Click below to stream their debut EP Nightwalk