EP REVIEW: Losers – mirabelle.

If there’s one thing MIRABELLE. can’t be accused of on their new EP, it’s beating around the bush. Losers skips the foreplay and unapologetically tears through your speakers with a level of pop-punk energy that’d have even the hardest of hearts nodding along.

The title track, Losers, hits like a word that’s right on the tip of your tongue, both familiar and different in a way that keeps you coming back over and over to figure it out. The verses do their best to trick you into a false sense of security, soothing the palate with their early 2010s vibe of shouted vocals and disgruntled lyrics like “no plan/no money/and a fucking headache”. Then, the guitar kicks in, and you’re knocked right off balance. The heavier riffs rip a hole through the textbook pop-punk sound and give way to something a little spicier. With one minute left to go on the track, we veer off course completely, right into a wall of assorted sounds, ranging from DJ scratches and cheerleader chants to a filthy breakdown. If this track is your introduction to the Parisian quartet, they truly mean to make a first impression.

For those who are already acquainted, it’s a recognisable recipe which MIRABELLE. have perfected. Tracks like Welcome To My Funeral (from their album of the same name) follow this ‘never let them know your next move’ blueprint, twisting and turning through their in-your-face sound. And the second track from Losers, Back On Your Feet, takes a similar path, with the catchy mantra of “fly a little close to the sun/and burn your wings man” acting as our grounding rod while the band drags us kicking and screaming through breakdown after breakdown (and throws a key change in for good measure).

Track three, FUCK NO, takes the same combination, but flips it and reverses it. The huge, screamed, irate lyrics, “I know your dad gives you everything you want,” and thrashing instruments make up the bulk of the sound, with short, softer, split-second bursts offering advice like “Don’t you think it might be time to get a job? It’s getting kind of weird?” mixed in for good measure. Plus, for any non-believers who think MIRABELLE. are stuck in their ways, there’s even a short rap-rock interlude sure to win over fans of SUM 41.

While the final track, Daydreamer, offers much of the same energetic sound, we’re offered a short glimpse into something else that MIRABELLE. have to offer. Around the two-minute mark, the track takes a dreamy detour, stripping back to melancholic strings and a rare moment of soft, earnest vocals proclaiming “I’ll figure it out when I’m dead”. 

The softness isn’t unheard of for MIRABELLE. But the rare reprieve of this moment of gentleness on Losers somehow makes this lyric hit harder than the heavier vocals across the track. Then, as fast as the moment entered, it’s gone; the vocals begin echoing, and glitchy instruments begin to be layered in, before the EP crashes into its climax.

It’s easy to see why MIRABELLE. follow in their own footsteps with such a maximalist sound; the result is an incredible wave of energy sure to make live shows feel like lighting a firework on a trampoline. And, in a time when more and more filter-perfect, polished minimalism seems to creep in wherever we turn, it’s a welcome change. But it will be exciting to see whether MIRABELLE. have more mixed-up sounds to offer with future releases, as repeating the same thing time and time again could be a risky move for those who want to keep it fresh.

Rating: 7/10.

Losers is out now via Banshies Records. 

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