mxmtoon and Kero Kero Bonito Want Us to Enjoy the Ride in "the situation"
Photo: Bảo Ngô
Bedroom-pop superstar mxmtoon celebrates the announcement of her third studio album, liminal space, with the release of her latest single, "the situation," featuring Kero Kero Bonito. A reflective, existential track disguised as an upbeat pop anthem, the song is a clever commentary on feeling like you're past your prime. With its unique blend of cheeky lyrics, vibrant production, and acoustic strumming, the single showcases mxmtoon's innate ability to craft a pop-driven earworm.
"the situation" opens with bright instrumentals and bouncy beats, embodying a breezy, cloudless summer day. mxmtoon croons over the deceptively cheery arrangement, "It's getting hotter and / I'm getting hotter too / It's not forever / Know I'll peak and then it's all / downhill from there," realizing the impending and unstoppable passage of time as each birthday comes to pass. On the hook, she waxes poetic about "the reality of the situation," and that focusing your time and energy on it is just "a morbid infatuion." She pushes back against the narrative that women reach a peak and the rest of their lives are all downhill from there with optimistic sonics tied together with the truth that "We get older and then we die / And there's nothing you can do about it," so we might as well enjoy the ride.
liminal space, the upcoming album, created with an all-female team of producers, writers, engineers, photographers, and designers, sees mxmtoon further embracing her signature, confessional songwriting that has earned her millions of listeners and devoted fans across the globe. Exploring themes like the uncertainty of growing up through a carefully crafted indie-pop lens, liminal space is expected to be mxmtoon's most introspective and powerful record yet.
"In the turmoil of the last two years since my second record, I've felt suspended in a transitory landscape that often at times felt endless," shares the artist in a statement. "It's easy to feel trapped in something you barely understand, and life has thrown an onslaught of questions towards me that I can only respond with, 'I have no idea how to answer this.' So, suspended in the unknown, I wrote these songs. I tried to unravel how I've chosen to fulfill the roles I've been given in my own life, and at times how I've failed to keep up with them."
Watch the "the situation" visualizer below:
