By Erika Kellerman
The Mowgli’s are the musical equivalence of a sunny, clear-skied Saturday morning. Their melodies and catchy choruses are like old friends, picking you up when you’re down. They are hard not to like. Their music, even with the saddest of lyrics, still wants to make every listener dance in their seat or wherever they may be.
The Mowgli’s latest EP, American Feelings, is a fun, laid back pop journey from start to finish.
The Mowgli’s are known for their harmonies, which are almost choir-like at times. American Feelings take a deep, personal dive into the lives of the members of the band.
There are two sides to this EP, one that is living and surviving in the current, disenfranchised times and the other is being in a typical Millennial relationship. Both piece the EP together like a mixed up and jagged puzzle- which also echoes actual life.
American Feelings also shows how truly versatile The Mowgli’s are as a group. “Hard To Love” is a true pop track, featuring harmonies and an indie-choir on the chorus while “Mr. Telephone” is an alternative, pop fusion with an infectious bass line and airy vocals. “Norman Rockwell” slows down the EP and grooves with the listener and the finale “Talk About It” is a drum-heavy, guitar picking anthem that focuses on singer Katie Jayne Earl’s smoky and sultry plea to “talk about” a possible relationship.
The Mowgli’s perfectly encompass what it means to be young in 2019. They know first hand what it’s like to experience love and heart break, to have a government fail them and to feel hopeless in current times.
“Hard To Love” and “Talk About It” speak on both sides of a relationship, one is being blatant about the insecurities people experience and the other that is needing to communicate better with their partners. Dating as a millennial is hard. Living in a society where dating sites and technology complicates and further pushes people away from talking about their true feelings is even harder. “Hard To Love” is putting everything out in the open, admitting that they are hard to love, they feel less than, and they’re scared to lose their significant other. In retrospect, “Talk About It” is being stuck in a conversation about love, but not knowing how to go about it. It is an awkward conversation concerning feelings and if two people could truly love each other.
“Mr Telephone” and “Norman Rockwell” both discuss frustrations, one with a relationship and one with society. Both have a longing to see a change in the world they live in, but again, not being able to communicate those feelings. “Mr. Telephone” is being clear that things didn’t work out in a past relationship and that they want better for themselves. “Norman Rockwell” discusses the frustrations of feeling stuck and not knowing how to make a situation better. It also touches on waiting for the world to improve when it gets increasingly worse each day but remaining hopeful that it will get better.
All four songs from American Feelings make expressing hard feelings fun. Their harmonies make listeners feel nostalgic and reminiscent of a relationship they may have never had. In short, The Mowgli’s know how to craft pop excellence.
