Spectors: meeshiieee

The blockbuster comes later, but let’s start from the beginning. What hooked our ears to meeshiieee was actually a song the self-described “slovenely” songwriter labelled as a discarded track. “Umi E” is an incredibly simple song – a strummed acoustic guitar, singing, a few backup vocals – yet the delivery of this song is absolutely devastating. The bedroom-recording sound goes a long way, exposing the rough edges of meeshiieee’s voice when she shoots for the high notes while also making the verses sound slightly distant, like she’s trying to break through some sort of audio fog to get to you. And then those angelic backups sneak in, and this turns into a homemade prayer. If this is discarded, the other stuff must be REALLY good, yeah? It is – “Kataomori” features a muted groove that lends it a poppier side, while still exploiting the lo-fi vibe (good luck figuring out the singing).

The best, though, turns out to be a cover of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” Most immediately – meeshiieee totally ignores the famous drum beat that opens up the song and has since been bitten by countless artists over the years, to the point it’s as cliche a drum pattern can get. By bypassing that – something deeply associated with the original – meeshiieee finds an immediate portal towards putting her own spin on the song. She turns it into a longing campfire strum-along, focusing on the lyrics while also lending a ghostly air to the background with what sounds like her own trailing voice. Listen below.