Mary Middlefield - “Wake Up!”
Photo by Annemarie Sterian
Switzerland-based singer-songwriter Mary Middlefield returns to the blog with the edgy and intoxicating “Wake up!”
“Wake up!” is a pop rock track that wouldn’t be out of place as a single from the 1990s Britpop era. It is a refreshing, savage blast of smart, sassy music that is reminiscent of Elastica and Blur. Diving headfirst into the aggressive and emotional ends of their catalogue when they were openly drawing on American indie rock bands like Pavement and Pixies.
The music is gritty but polished in cool detachment. Taut, razor-edged guitar work that packs a sharp confrontational edge evokes Graham Coxon at his very finest. There’s the same economical, angular push and pull between melody and abrasion giving the impression the guitar is arguing with the track and not decorating it.
The punchy drums and grounded, dark bass thrust the song forward with relentless intent refusing to let the tension drop. While the music walks in the footsteps of acts that embraced the DIY, punkish aesthetic, the slick interplay and control of tension and release reveal a snappy, driving, focused indie pop-rock record.
Middlefield matches the attitude and energy of the instrumentation with ease. From start to finish, she delivers a confident, assertive vocal that’s like a cross between Shirley Manson’s cold grit and Justine Frischmann’s playful bite. On the chorus, the delivery erupts into full on shouts tipped with catty, snarky inflections that hammer home the main hook.
On the track, Middlefield adds: “I wrote “Wake up!” from a place where empathy shuts down and contempt takes over, including contempt for myself. The language is extreme because the headspace is extreme, not because it’s meant to incite violence or wish harm on anyone. It’s about how self-loathing can rot into something loud, ugly, and confrontational, especially when you project it outward. The song doesn’t celebrate that mindset or offer redemption; it exposes it. It’s the sound of catching yourself at your worst and letting the tape keep rolling.”