31. Atticus Dean Mitchell

Surprise! Gift to myself as it's ma birthday is a review! Some would call that sad...I'd agree.

So considering I have wanted to share the joys of this music for a while now and haven't had an opportunity to do so, I have decided to share with you the music that moves me the most on this day about me.

Now you guys will more than likely recognise Mr Mitchell from My Babysitter's A Vampire, you know that cool Disney series that was unjustly cancelled? (It's been like 10 years and I am still bitter...) And perhaps some of you who are more mature will know he, to my utmost pleasure, turned up for a short stint in that long winded first series of Fargo. Funny story with that one, watched the first few episodes the first time round, missed the others and then forgot about it. Few months later I ended up on the Channel 4 streaming site and it was on there but there was something like a day left before they removed it. This was before the days of Netflix and you'll bet your bottom dollar I stayed up ALL NIGHT to binge that damn show so I could finally tick it of the list of incomplete series' in my head. School next day was fun, I think I was doing my GCSE's at the time? I'm sorry but that stint made me appreciate how much I did not like that show in the end. Atticus and Martin Freeman were the only redeeming features and even then the latter's accent was pretty sketchy. 

So anyway, imagine my surprise when years later on a nostalgic evening of revisiting old shows I love (I am prone to these), I fall down that familiar rabbit hole of googling my favourite cast members and discover that Atticus is a musician. Now I remember Radio Rebel very well, that film gave me so much confidence to ask out my crush at the time (wow that rejection was so painful that I cannot ever watch it again for fear of picking that scab), and there's a song in there that's supposed to be sung by our guy here. Now I feel like I don't have to explain here, Disney Channel is known for making non-singers singers no matter what, so my handy friend Spotify helped me in this endeavor and long story short I fell in love. 

Now we all know I am a sucker for unusual music. You may remember how I fondly recalled notes that moved me in both Stephen Sondheim and Danny Elfman's work. And I would describe my own playlists as unique because they sum me up beautifully. So I want to make it very clear. These songs are instrumental masterpieces only. No singing. Just melodies that hit your very core. Today we are going to take a brief trip through his discography, don't panic there aren't like 6 albums, just some singles and EPs. But you'll thank me.

Without further ado, although like the previous music review format I have adopted I'm going to generalise each set or else we will be here forever with my passionate ramblings. We can start with 2017's album Sonder:

Weirdly enough this was the last set I listened to, I knew right from the moment I randomly chose a song to sample that I would need to listen to all of Atticus's songs when I had a moment to appreciate them. Low and behold that moment came in the last days of November last year when I was in a room all on my own doing Correspondence work. What better time to settle down in peace and concentrate?

Now I can't gauge what emotions music will generate with anyone else, only myself, so when I talk about this stuff I can only give you my perspective, whether that was the intended spin of creation only Atticus will know, but all I can say in a general sense is that it is beautiful. To be honest that little statement there ties in nicely with the meaning of the word 'sonder'. It's a nice little word that will change your perspective even temporarily.  

Now I'd like to talk about a specific track, the title track actually. Sonder is the song I actually stopped and listened to intently because it is so complex and familiar. I still can't put my finger on it but I felt like I already knew the notes and the way they would play out. Of course I knew Atticus could play the drums, he's in a band which is impossible to enjoy over in the UK as there's no trace of it. But I still smiled, like genuinely smiled, when the drums got introduced in the song. I can't explain why, and I'm sure if anyone else were with me I would have looked like a madwoman smiling randomly. 

Sonder is the perfect song for a film score. You guys know how my brain works, with my funny little stop motion ideas and little meaningful short films. First time I listened I ended up with a narrative in my head which would have been perfect for a short film. And if I could get permission to use the song I'd be out there filming away and in my element. But that dream will have to stay where it is for now, the call centre life has taken over for now and my ambition is waning. But for now the reviews will continue and that's all I have.

What I love about Sonder specifically but I suppose it applies to all the songs in this album, is that all of them hold some kind of emotive importance. Whether it be expressed through the piano (oh how I love the piano), or the introduction of the drums of change, or even of it just be through the name of the song. Every single song Atticus has released (that I have access to), has held something deep. It conveys something you can relate to, actually let me rephrase that, these songs are music you can apply yourself to in order to relate. I don't know if he composes his music through pain or some kind of emotive life experience, that is for him to know and why would we come to that unless we were told? But somehow you get to understand through your own experience, you listen and you relate and then you understand. That is what makes us human. The ability to empathise and understand.

As always I've gone off on a tangent. I find it is sometimes hard to put my expressive thoughts into words, if only there were a way like in Doctor Who where I could make you feel or see exactly what I do so that you get me. At least you know I'm passionate....don't judge me it's my birthday. Humour me actually, go look up Norman's walk and Norman at the Piano from the Paranorman score. It's also a soundtrack I tend to do my creative stuff to and Atticus's music remind me so much of these two songs. Out of context it's just a bright little tune marred with a slight sadness and something more, something odd, perhaps a little sinister. The use of the similar instruments all striking the same chord is very clever. All of these songs are very clever indeed.

Moving swiftly on then, we come to the single Zurich from 2018. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. First listen and I was like this one seems a little mundane compared to the others, maybe mundane isn't quite the word but the feeling was there. It seems empty. But then the more I listened the more my brain worked and I decided I quite like this one after all. We can't have them all, even the greatest of composers will have a song less popular than others, but this one isn't it. It just needed some attention to fully grasp it. What I think I like most is the fact you can hear him pressing the keys and the pedals during the song. It feels very personal. This song is like a memory from a long forgotten place, perhaps Zurich, and it's hazy and calming yet tainted with longing. It's a song which I like to reflect to, one I'd probably end up crying to because it induces lots of thought. But there are parts where it seems brighter, and that is a silver lining. Zurich is a very thoughtful song. 

I like the name of the next EP, Red Giant. Also from 2018 I get this whole ethereal vibe from this set. Has anyone heard of the band Sleeping at Last? Known over here for songs used in either adverts for banks or Viagra. I want it known I liked their music before either of these came out, but they have song dedicated to planets and space and all of their songs are very emotive and beautiful. Much like Atticus's next EP Black Light, that gives me massive Sleeping at Last vibes. Also just as an after thought, listen to Daydreaming by Radiohead, one of my favourite bands and my god the vibes, man, veerrrrryy similar.

This is the type of music that makes me want to dance under the stars. It appeals to my soul and makes me realise there is so much more to life than what we are currently living. We are all capable of so much more, there is a symphony inside us that needs to be released but we are too caught up in society to listen to ourselves. Just think of the magic we could produce if we let ourselves be who we were meant to be. Be who you are, not who you think you should be.

I don't know why but that little philosophical line reminded me of that really sad bit in The Iron Giant, 'you are, who you chose to be' and then 'you stay, I go, no following'. Thought I'd share that with you because it breaks my heart every single time. Yes I am a grown woman, you wouldn't have thought it with the amount of cartoons I watch. 

Back to Red Giant though, Coyote is my favourite track. I seriously cannot put my finger on why but this one was ridiculously familiar. It's quite a gentle song. There is a repetitive note played throughout most of it and that one constant against the light piano intervals hits me. I never thought I would play these type of songs in the car, instrumental pieces or in fact soundtracks in general are quite personal to me and the fact I am then in the outside world for people to look in unnerves me a little, so I stick to my normal jam when driving and then go to the confines of my desk or workshop or even bedroom to indulge in this safe sound. But Coyote and some select others accompanied me on a longish drive in November. It was actually quite therapeutic. There was so much aesthetic, the soft rain falling on the car, burnt orange leaves falling around me, the chilly air fighting with my car heater. All of that swirling around me with the soft piano, it draws you in. A little bit like a photograph, you see those cosy winter or autumn pictures and you want to be a part of that aesthetic, it seems very inviting. But we all forget that at one point or another we have lived a moment similar to the one caught in that picture. We just never stopped to appreciate the moment. For that brief moment I guess I did, and now that track carries that memory for me like a photo. 

Isn't it funny how the brain works? We can get very poetic at times. And I think the music that Atticus composes is also very poetic, and of course very personal at the same time. I enjoy it all the same. If you've read this far, well done, not much longer to go. We'll now look at Black Light from 2019 and round off this review. 

We all know how I like to associate certain songs with seasons. Remember my Folklore review? On that note, no Miss Swift, I am not feeling 22 anymore... But I have good reason this time. I have a specific playlist which I have been tweaking for years. One that started in the back of a notebook and I'd pull up the tunes on Youtube and as I got older and technology became more accommodating I've moved it onto an app and can listen whenever. Now you may have gathered that this is an autumnal playlist, and it is a collection of songs most personal to me. I'd never play it with company, it is mine. These are the songs that speak to my soul. Some are sad, some have gotten me through horrific times in my life. Some of those songs are very painful to listen to now, and yet they remain to remind me how I've grown. Some are reflective, some quite upbeat and you might of heard of them. To give a clue, Neptune by Sleeping at Last is in there. But the reason I say this now is because the first piece I ever heard from Atticus Dean was Memoirs and I instantly added that track to my playlist. In my opinion that one piece embodies Autumn and memories and growth.

Now Atticus has been really clever here. As with all his songs he has given us a name to place the song with, you might think 'well obviously Lauren, a song would need a name', BUT this name has given us something specific to think about while associating our feelings generated by his music. He has given us an allocation. What might have been a very personal piece of music to him summing up his life, might have been nothing to us. But perhaps from the name of the song we could either try to understand the thoughts and feelings that went into this OR associate our own, it becomes our song via proxy. Either way the name is very apt. 

Another song I would like to bring to your attention from this EP is Carrousel. When working I didn't get a chance to look at the names I could only listen and find out later. But my first thought was fairground. Once again Atticus as captured a memory or a place and found a way to bring snippets into his music. This one isn't blatant, it is an association you'd rightly place as soon as you saw the name against the song. It's your tainted childhood memory of the fair replaying in your mind through gentle sounds. I say tainted is because we rely so much on emotions to recall things that everything gets addled through unintentional rose coloured glasses. Think Christmas for example. As adults the festive season loses its magic and becomes a depressing time of year for many as we can never reproduce the excitement and sheer elation we felt as a child. But we always try. When we think of Christmas we remember our own experiences from our childhood, our own piece of the magic, but we can't recreate that exact past and become disappointed because we have muddled our own expectation. We have idolised a memory and it has become unattainable. I read a book a few days prior to penning this originally, it was actually a murder mystery 'Death of a Snob' by M. C. Beaton, and there was a line in there about exactly that. What Atticus has done here has warped his sound but enough to trigger long forgotten emotions which in turn trigger memories. While you wouldn't outright go 'oh that song is about a Carrousel', which it isn't but perhaps the poetic term for emotions being like one, there is enough to understand the poetry and I'm going to stop there before I confuse everyone with my crap.

I spent so long thinking that out and finding a way to say it that my soup went cold. Let's get down to it because I'm conscious this has become an essay to rival any university thesis. I give the general musical works of Atticus Dean or Atticus Dean Mitchell as he is known in other places a 9/10. I have to be fair here. I would easily go higher but that would make me bias. 

I am just in love with the 17 tracks that are available to me. I have found recently that a lot of magic I adore comes from Canada and it is a country I have wanted to visit for a very long time. It calls out to me like the ocean to Moana, probably as my paternal family can be traced back there, hence the surname, Canadian not English. 

Anyways, stay safe my loves, enjoy the sound, enjoy your life, and google the meaning of the word sonder, it'll make you think. Au Revoir!