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Photo: Lauren Tepfer

Oakland-based singer-songwriter mxmtoon is not one to keep her feelings locked up. Following her single "prom dress" (a song about a breakdown she had after eating a Double Double at In-N-Out and not being able to fit into the title garment) the songstress has just released her most recent track "high & dry" with the announcement of her full-length debut the masquerade.  

"high & dry" is a track that perfectly encapsulates mxmtoon's style, which she herself describes as "rhyming diary entries." The tune's lilting ukulele forms a lacy field on which the singer emancipates her inner monologue via her pristine vocal. With the addition of purring horns, the song blooms into the chorus wherein mxmtoon sings, "And I know that when all you wanna do is hurt me/ You'll see there's little reward in stinging me like a bee."

This will not be the only instance of unapologetically confessional lyrics on the masquerade. On the naming of the album, the singer elaborates,

"When I first started making music it felt like an escape from my day-to-day life, where I'd have to put on a mask to hide what I was really feeling. Writing songs was a way to express all the things I couldn't talk about in face-to-face interactions and share them with a community of people who maybe also needed to put up a faćade to get through the day."

During the creation of the masquerade, mxmtoon enlisted fellow indie up-and-comer Cavetown to assist in the production process. With both artists having a penchant for curating an intimate, songs-from-your-bedroom sound, the pair doubled down on the project in the decision to release an acoustic version of each track alongside the album version.

If "high & dry" is anything to go by,  the masquerade  is sure to tug at every one of your heart strings. Check out the latest track below, and be sure to grab tickets for the dates on mxmtoon's nearly sold out fall tour before  the masquerade  drops on September 13.

Tour Dates:
9/19 - Portland, OR @ Holocene SOLD OUT
9/20 - Vancouver, BC @ Rio
9/21 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile SOLD OUT
9/27 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy SOLD OUT
9/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy
10/1 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
10/2 - San Diego, CA @ Voodoo Room @ House of Blues SOLD OUT
10/4 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room SOLD OUT
10/5 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
10/12 - Washington, DC @ All Things Go Festival
10/19 - 10/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ Metarama Circus Gaming Festival
10/22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/23 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10/25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam Hall
10/26 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/27- Detroit, MI @ Shelter
10/31 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/6 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
11/8 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair SOLD OUT
11/9 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
11/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade SOLD OUT
11/15 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre SOLD OUT
12/1 - Southampton, UK @ Engine Room*
12/2 - Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2* SOLD OUT
12/3 - Norwich, UK @ Epic*
12/5 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club* SOLD OUT
12/6 - Glasgow, UK @ The Garage* SOLD OUT
12/7 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy 2* SOLD OUT
12/8 - Dublin, Ireland @ Dublin Academy Green Room* SOLD OUT
12/10 - Bristol, UK @ The Fleece* SOLD OUT
12/12 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom*

*Supporting Cavetown