The debut LP from Cincinnati, OH’s The Mimes is available for pre order on 9/24/2021. The album is limited to a run of only 200 copies, with little to no chance of a repressing.
Formed at the beginning of the government-issued mass quarantine as a result of the Covid-19 virus, Cincinnati’s The Mimes found solace in the shut down. As a group of friends living in the same building, as well as sharing a practice space/recording studio, it only made sense for them to utilize their newfound abundance of time together as a creative outlet. What started with simple jam sessions followed with dreams of what an interactive art collective could look like in the current pandemic, eventually turning into a full-fledged album complete with a collection of as many music videos they could make themselves. While each member has always kept a solid root of DIY ethos, their attempts to be as mindful and safe as possible left them no other option but to completely do-it-themselves, offering a uniquely intimate sound and image.
Stuck somewhere between the absurd, poppy, and nostalgic, the Mimes are found hopping styles from song to song. It’s not clear if this is a result of the group’s varied influence, or its ethos of noncommittal instrument assignments. The record opens with a chalky pop piece that resonates somewhere between the jangle of the Dead Milkmen and the melodic timbre of Beat Happening or King Kong. Other tracks include echoes of the garage bombast of the Stooges, a mod-clad dance track, a sad sex ballad and more. Lyrical topics range from suicide, civil rights, environmental neglect, fever dreams and institutionalized Catholic child abuse.
The album, self-produced and engineered by the band themselves runs 11 tracks long and clocks in at roughly 35 minutes. Songs vary from produced studio endeavors to crunchy experiments of rogue environments and boombox captured folk commentaries. Additionally, the album takes the listener on an optical journey, as the outfit has taken on filming and directing their own music videos with some collaboration featuring other local visual artists.
At the end of 2020, The Mimes were displaced from their recording studio. They haven’t let this stop them, however. Transitioning to a new studio across the river in Dayton, Kentucky, they’ve nearly finished writing and begun recording their second release, signaling what may be a onslaught of prolific outpour from the group.
FFO: Rolling Stones, Rudimentary Peni, The Ronnettes, Daniel Johnston and The Go Gos.